


A Living Nightmare

by PitchBlackWings



Series: The Living Trilogy [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: A Few Someones Actually, Abuse, And he kinda does, Angst, Angst with and without comfort, Betrayal, Blueberry is an Adult, Bonding, Depression, Dream is an Adult, Dream no, Emotional Hurt, Emotions, Families falling apart, Fighting and violence, Fighting your own family, Guardians are as good as Gods, Imprisonment, InK nO, Ink is an idiot, LOTS of violence, Lots of problems, M/M, Multi-Part Story, Never Did This Before, Nighmare has problems, Nightmare no, Poor Dream, Someone Needs A Psychiatrist Later, Sort Of, Torture, Undertale Multiverse, Unhealthy Relationships, Weird Cannon, You would think Ink has Multi Personality Disorder, engagements, family and friends, family matters, fluff later, getting sick, i guess, poor Nightmare, what to put
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 21:23:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 35
Words: 60,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19980724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PitchBlackWings/pseuds/PitchBlackWings
Summary: Ink is just so sick of Nightmare abusing Dream.  He doesn't care what the Guardian of Positivity says, Nightmare is beyond redemption.  He keeps hurting Ink's creations and spreading negativity with no regard for others.So Ink decides to end it once and for all.  One more battle and Dream's crying about his brother will stop for good, and the emotionless Nightmare will be gone forever.  It's for the best.But the plan backfires, and Ink begins to regret his decision.  Everyone does.





	1. Ideas

**Author's Note:**

> ****
> 
> # WARNING!!!! PLEASE READ!!!
> 
> ****
> 
> For those of you who didn't feel like reading all the tags (and really, who can blame you?)  
> This fanfiction WILL CONTAIN HEAVY, HEAVY ANGST.
> 
> OH, SO HEAVY.
> 
> Violence, angst, graphic depictions of injuries, the works. If you have a bleeding heart and don't want to read that kind of thing, here's a forewarning!  
> Of course, if you like that kind of thing... welcome to my Dragon's Lair, my readers.
> 
> Updates will be infrequent; maybe once per one-two weeks on average. Please bear with me, life does happen sometimes... ^w^'
> 
> -PitchBlackWings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have Fun Reading!
> 
> :3

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ink was in the middle of a fight with Nightmare and his gang in a nearly destroyed AU. Dream was there by his side, fighting bravely against his own brother.  
Ink dodged Nightmare's sharp tentacles, the bladed end of one scratching the side of his skull. That was way too close. He flung pink paint at Nightmare with his brush, but he easily sidestepped the projectiles.  
Ink ducked suddenly as a knife whistled over his head, another just clipping his left collarbone. He winced internally. Dream shot arrows at Nightmare and the Dark Sanses to distract them and help Ink, aiming to maim and injure, not to dust. He still thought they were redeemable, after everything that they've done...  
"Nightmare, please! You don't have to do this!" Dream called out, his voice slightly hoarse. "It's not too late to come back!"

Nightmare laughed coldly, his mouth curled slightly upwards in a smirk. "Why would you ever think i wanted to come back, Dream?"

The guardian of negativity took advantage of his brother's distraction to attack him, lunging at him with sharpened tendrils aimed at his SOUL. Dream dodged most of them, shooting multiple arrows at Nightmare's inky body, but one tendril managed to stab Dream in the shoulder.

Dream winced and tried to pull away in a panic, but the tendril curled itself around the wound, refusing to be dislodged. Something about the ooze imbedded in Dream's shoulder was keeping him from teleporting- he didn't think he could escape.  
Nightmare stabbed his other shoulder as well and curled a tentacle around Dream's neck, choking him. The latter watched as Dream writhed, holding him about a foot off the ground, making any escape impossible.

"N-Nightmare! Brother! Please don't do this-!" Dream gasped for breath, trying to struggle. Nightmare had knocked away Dream's bow when he first wounded him, and it was lying on the ground a few yards away.

Nightmare laughed. "You think i still care, after everything you've done? I'm nothing but an emotionless monster, Dream. Even you, my bothersome brother, should know that."  
He reared back yet another tentacle, ready to strike at Dream's SOUL.

Ink was busy fighting Killer, Horror, Dust and Cross, fending them off with well-timed swings of his paintbrush and splashes of paint. He could hear Nightmare and Dream talking. He sighed internally. Dream was never going to get through to Nightmare...

Ink knocked the Dark Sanses back temporarily by sending out a wave of acidic pink paint at them, looking back to see how Dream was faring in his fight. He gasped when he saw Dream held aloft by Nightmare, impaled by his tentacles, with Nightmare ready to strike a fatal blow.

The Creator teleported hurriedly next to them, swinging his paintbrush viciously at Nightmare. The inky black skeleton hissed in surprise, recoiling, his tentacle hitting wide of Dream's SOUL and only barely scratching it instead of impaling it and killing his brother as he had surely intended.

Nightmare retracted his tentacles in a flash from Dream, jumping back to a safe distance, tendrils coiled near his back and ready to attack. Nightmare was vicious, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to fight both of them without backup from his boys, who were coming as fast as they could.

Ink stood in front of Dream's collapsed form protectively, growling. "Stay away from him, you bloodthirsty monster!"

Nightmare yawned. "You can describe me all you want, Ink. No point in trying to insult someone who can't have their feelings hurt."

Ink snarled and picked up Dream and opened a portal to his home in the Doodle Sphere, ready to make his escape. "This isn't over, Nightmare."

Nightmare grinned infuriatingly, knowing he had won. "If you say so, Inky."

Ink jumped through the portal and landed hard in the living room of the Star Sanses' base. Dream was heavier than he looked. He quickly set Dream on the couch and dashed to get the med kit from the bathroom cabinet, opening it on the way back to the living room and taking out the healing gel and bandages.

Dream was still responsive when Ink came back, to his great relief, but only barely conscious. Ink was worried- Dream had gotten a brutal hit out there. He started tending his friend's wounds.  
The worst by far was the shoulder wounds where Nightmare had stabbed him. Ink began by gently cleaning out the excess leftover ooze from the bone. It was pierced straight through, like a needle through paper. Dream winced and whined slightly, tears coming to his eyes. Ink sighed in empathy.

Once the leftover ooze was cleared out, Ink began to cover the entire puncture with healing gel before wrapping it tightly yet gently in bandages. The hole itself was relatively small, about the size of a dollar coin, but it looked horribly painful. Dream shuddered and whimpered the entire time. Ink repeated the process with the other wound in the opposite arm, and then turned to Dream's SOUL. Nightmare had scratched it, and that worried Ink. Such negativity that made up Nightmare's entire being could really hurt a person like Dream, who thrived off positivity and happiness. There was only a very small scratch with a few droplets of ooze still on the upside-down heart shaped SOUL. Ink cleared off the slime carefully and covered the entire SOUL with healing gel. It was expensive, but better safe than sorry, right? 

Dream's eyes finally focused a few minutes after Ink had finished dressing the smaller wounds, resting on his best friend. Ink let out a tense breath. He had been so worried.

"How do you feel?"

Tears came to Dream's eyes, and he looked away. "I- I feel terrible. Nightmare and I were so c-close before he apple incident and n-now..."

Dream broke down into sobs. This wasn't new to Ink, far from it. Dream had cried sometimes when Nightmare had badly injured him. Dream would never give up hope that his brother would one day come home, and it hurt him worse than the puncture wounds in his collarbones to think that his only family hated him enough to do this to him.

Dream couldn't stop the flow of tears, and Ink moved to sit down next to the propped-up Dream on the couch, hugging him gently. "A-am I not good enough for him? Am I j-just a terrible b-brother?"

Ink hugged Dream a bit more tightly. "Never, Dream. You're amazing. Nightmare is the one that isn't good enough for you." He hated seeing the Guardian of Positivity so distraught.

Dream cried himself to sleep, exhausted from the fight. Ink gently pried his fingers away from his scarf and torso and stood up, getting a blanket resting in a nearby chair and spreading it gently over his friend before going to the kitchen to get himself a drink of water.

Ink sat down at the table in the kitchen, rage slowly growing inside him. No matter what he or Dream did, Nightmare was never going to come back to the Star Sanses' side. He wasn't even Nightmare anymore- just an empty husk corrupted by black apples from the Tree of Life. And Nightmare was steadily getting more dangerous- Ink didn't want another Error running around. One was bad enough!

He had to do something. Dream would never give up hope, always living in a fantasy where one day, his brother would come back to him. Ink smiled grimly. That was about as likely as Error running around with a wedding dress in an Underfell AU.

There were no solutions and Ink HATED it. Dream would always be there by his side on the battlefield, hopes high that his brother would come home. And Nightmare would enjoy crushing them painfully. If only Ink could get rid of the disgusting skeleton...

Get rid of Nightmare.

Why not?

It wasn't like Ink couldn't get rid of him. Dream would never agree to it, but if Ink could find a way to kill Nightmare, to get him cornered with no escape...

Ink pulled out his notebook and began to write out ideas. He'd have to be very, very careful not to let Dream see this. But if he could figure out a way to get Nightmare out of the way, he could focus on Error. No more negativity or night terrors for any of the AUs- they could finally have some semblance of peace. Nightmare wouldn't hurt Dream anymore.

Never again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudos or comment if you liked? Maybe? idk you do you ^w^


	2. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An inside look at Nightmare's gang, Inky begins his plan, and Dream is sadly oblivious...

Nightmare was relaxing on a couch in the Dark Sanses' home base, reading a book. Injuries were tended to earlier, and the confidence gained from defeating Ink and Dream in battle was euphoric.

Dust, Killer, Horror and Cross were playing a game of Go Fish on the floor in front of him. Nightmare watched them fondly. He was proud of them. They had come so far after joining his gang- now they were able to hold their own against the seizure-inducing Creator himself!

"Any fives, Cross?" Dust asked.  
Cross looked at his hand briefly. "Nope. Go fish ."

Dust groaned and drew a card. No matches...

Nightmare slipped a bookmark into his book, a horror mystery novel he'd picked up on one of his "shopping" trips. It was pretty nice so far- the plot was interesting, and the characters were involving. he'd have to see if he could find the rest of the series later.  
He placed the book on a small table next to the couch and stood up, stretching. it was getting late, and he did have people to take care of.

"I'm going to make dinner. any requests?" he queried, glancing down at the others.  
Cross brightened at the mention of food. "Chicken tacos?"  
Nightmare shrugged. "Any vetoes or is that okay with the rest of you?"

Horror frowned slightly, looking up from his cards. "Not too spicy, please," he said. Horror hated spicy foods.

Nightmare nodded and walked over to the kitchen, opening the pantry and fridge at the same time with his tentacles, pulling out chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream and taco shells. He hummed, remembering something.  
"Soft or hard taco shells?" he called out towards the living room. the chorus verdict was hard shells, so he grabbed a box and slipped them in the oven to bake.

After that, Nightmare was a multitasking blur- his tentacles able to shred and cook chicken, cut lettuce, and grate cheese all at the same time. It was the reason he was the best cook in the gang- although Horror wasn't half bad, either, Nightmare's tendrils gave him a massive edge.

In about ten minutes, he had set up a taco platter- hot sauce on the side as a courtesy to Horror- and cleaned up the extra mess and got some napkins for everyone.

He walked into the living room, his mind blanking as he saw his boys engaged in a mock fight over the discarded game of Go Fish. It had evidently resulted in the current pile-up, with Dust on top and Horror at the bottom of the tangle of arms and legs.  
"Get your arm out of my eyesocket!" Cross spat.  
"Only if you get your elbow out of my face!" Killer retorted huffily.

Nightmare cleared his throat loudly, and the skeletons froze. Nightmare took advantage of the sudden silence to speak.

"Dinner's ready, if you idiots could stop playfighting long enough to eat it. What did I tell you about fighting in the living room? You'll break something, or worse, hurt yourselves accidentally."

The others mumbled awkward apologies andmanaged to get themselves untangled from each other. Nightmare rolled his single, piercing eye with a long-suffering huff of annoyance as he retreated to the kitchen table.  
Could he have been saddled with anyone more troublesome for a gang member? the amount of times he's had to step in to save what was left of their butts was... worrying to say the least.

He sighed as he heard Horror and Dust arguing about something in the other room, a small smile on his face as he got drinks for the gang, already having their favorites memorized. Would he change anything if he could…?

Nightmare shook his head, smile widening slightly as he used his tentacles to carry all five drinks. No, he wouldn't. It might have been a rough road to here and now, but he wouldn't change a thing about his boys. He honestly loves his life.

Are there times when he wishes it wasn't like this? of course. it's hard to be the Guardian of Negativity. It affects how Nightmare looks, thinks and acts, and he works hard to combat that unnatural feeling, at least around his boys. It makes life hard sometimes.

But now, sitting at a table with his family, eating dinner, and watching Killer overreact playfully to a terrible joke Dust had made about spices,  
("Why should you always keep your spices fresh? Because otherwise, when you try to cook, you're gonna have a bad THYME!") and everyone cracking up about it...  
Well, even the keeper of nightmares can't help but feel a little happiness.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sci's phone rang loudly.  
The skeleton put the remains of his sandwich down to check the caller ID.  
He frowned. Why was Ink calling him?  
He pressed the button to accept the call and held the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Ink, that you?"  
A slight rustle on the other end made Sci pause.  
"Yeah, Sci, it's me. did i call at a bad time?"  
Sci started to put the remains of his lunch back in the tupperware container they had come in, seeing as he probably wouldn't be able to finish the rest right now. "No, Ink, you caught me on my lunch break. what do you need?"

A small pause on the other end.  
"Sci, would you make me a potion that would instantly kill anyone when it splashed onto them, providing they weren't immortal?"

Sci blinked. and blinked again. "…What? Ink, why would you want any of that?"  
Another pause.

"It's Nightmare. I'm just so sick of him! he's almost as bad as Error, and it gets worse over time, with all the genocide runs fueling him with negative emotions.... and Dream! Dream will never give up on Nightmare, and his brother will jsut continue to put him down, again and again. If Dream won't use lethal force, and he'll ever, ever do that to his own brother.... one day, Nightmare is going to get tired of playing with him and is just going to kill him. i can't let that happen ad know that i could've prevented it- i can't--!"

Sci was silent, absorbing all the information. He knew Ink was very fond of Dream, and personally, he didn't think the Creator could ever get over it if Dream died. And the fact that he would probably blame himself if that ever happened was not good.

Ink took a deep breath before continuing, trying to compose himself.  
"So, i really, really need that potion. Before Nightmare kills one of us first. Please, Sci?"

Sci considered. It was not a light thing to be involved with the death of the Guardian of Negativity. But if he didn't do it, and Dream died... wht if Ink went into depression? the Dark Sanses could do whatever they wanted, and the entire Multiverse would suffer.  
When he put it like that, he really didn't have much of a choice. Besides, he owed Ink his life...

"Fine. I'll make a single dose of what you need. Only one, and never again. Give me about a week to run the proper tests."  
Ink exhaled in relief. "Thank you, Sci. I have to go. and please... don't tell Dream about any of this. He'll try to stop me, and it's for his own good that I'm doing this. So... please keep this under wraps?"

Oh well, thought Sci. In for a minute, in for a mile...  
"Fine."  
Sci hung up, standing up from his seat at the lunch table, grabbing uhis tupperware container and sliding it into the fridge.  
What had he gotten himself into...?

\-----------+------------------------+----------------------------+---------------

Ink let out a sigh when Sci hung up. It was all going alright... now all he had to do was make sure Dream didn't catch wind of anything that was going on or-  
"H-hi, Ink. Who were you talking to just now?"  
Oh snap. Speak of the devil...  
Dream had just walked into the room, wrapped up in a fuzzy yellow blanket. Ever since the fight with Nightmare, Dream had had a small fever and complained of sporadic headaches. Ink had chalked it down to a cold, and Dream was unofficially quarantined to the base until he got better. It had only been a day, so Ink wasn't that worried.

"O-oh," Ink replied, startled. "I was talking to Sci."  
Dream sat down on the couch next to Ink, smiling sleepily. "What were you calling him for?"  
Ink racked his brain for an excuse. "Um, i was talking to Sci to see if... um... maybe his AU had some... medicine?"  
Dream cocked his head curiously. "What for?"  
Ink began to run with the first idea that came to mind.  
"Um, for you. Because you're kind of sick..."

Dream yawned. "Aww, that's sweet of you, but i just have a slight cold, Ink. It's not really necessary."  
Ink frowned. "But you got it after fighting Nightmare. i don't want this already weird caused sickness to get any worse."  
that was a good idea, actually. Ink made a mental note to ask Sci about Dream when he picked up the poison for Nightmare.  
Dream sighed long-sufferingly. "If it makes you feel better, Ink. I'm going to go take a nap. have you seen my teddy bear? I think Blue might have taken it..."

Ink pointed to the large purple and white stuffed bear lying on the coffee table nearby. Dream brightened visibly at the sight of the bear and walked over to it, grabbing it and hugging it tightly.

"Why do you still sleep with a teddy bear?" Ink asked curiously.  
Dream frowned.  
"Back when Nightmare was good, we used to sleep together every night to chase away the nightmares. I used him as a teddy bear for years. I guess i never really got used to sleeping without him- but i still sleep better with a teddy bear," Dream explained.  
He sighed wistfully. "…I miss him..." but his smile widened after a few seconds.  
"But I'm sure that he'll come back eventually! Right, Ink?"

Ink felt a sliver of cold guilt crawling down his back. "I don't think so, Dream..."  
Dream shook his head confidently.  
"Of course he will! He just needs time for the corruption to wear off. I can see it every time i battle him. Every time he rejects my MERCY, i can feel his rough demeanor crack a little bit. Eventually, his corruption will break under the stress of MERCY and love, not LOVE. I just have to be patient. Right, Ink?" Dream looked at him hopefully.

Ink felt his sins crawling down his back, frigid and uncomfortable.  
"…Yeah. Right," he lied through his teeth, unable to say anything else while Dream was looking at him like that. "…Just a matter of time..."

Dream smiled brightly. "You'll see. I'm going to bed. Later!"

"Yeah. Later..." Ink sighed as Dream walked back towards his room. This was going to be much harder than he had thought...  
But it would be worth it if Dream would finally stop fantasizing over dreams of his brother. he would get over it eventually, and invest in something that wouldn't stab him in the back for fun.  
Ink groaned and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Maybe Dream had the right idea with that nap...


	3. Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sci has created the necessary potion to kill Nightmare. All Ink has to do is splash it on Nightmare, and he'll be gone forever.  
> It goes without saying that it will definitely be easier said than done.

Ink fidgeted nervously with the hem of his scarf as he waited.

Sci had told him that the potion he needed would be done today, and he was waiting for his friend to come to the designated exchange location.

The place that Ink and Sci had decided upon was an old copy of MobTale. Ink was a bit early and had ordered a drink from Grillby’s while he waited. He was relieved that Sci had chosen MobTale, as the resident humans and Monsters didn’t bat an eye at strange newcomers here. You just had to stay on your toes.

Ink turned his head as Sci walked into the bar and grill, looking around for him. Ink waved his hand, beckoning him to the booth he was sitting in.  
Sci blinked when he noticed him, walking over to the small booth and sliding into the seat opposite Ink. He sifted through the contents of a small bag at his side, pulling out a vial of dark blue liquid with swirls of silver. Sci held it out to Ink. “Here.”  
Ink reached out to take the vial hesitantly. “…Is this it?”  
Sci grunted in affirmation. “Just take it before I change my mind.”  
Ink tucked the vial carefully among the other vials of paint in the sash across his chest. “I had another question while you’re here, Sci-”  
Sci shook his head and raised his hands.

“No way. I didn’t want to do this in the first place. I’m not making you any more potions.”  
Ink hurriedly tried to explain. “No, it’s not like that! I’m worried about Dream.”  
Sci frowned. “Why?”  
Ink rubbed the back of his neck. “After fighting Nightmare, Dream got sick or something. He has a fever, and he’s lethargic. I don’t think he’s ever gotten sick before, and it hasn’t gotten better all week. In fact, his fever has been very slowly climbing. What’s going on?”

Sci tucked the small bag that the vial had come in back underneath his coat. “You’re worrying over nothing. It’s probably just a bad case of the flu that’s taking a while to take effect because of Dream’s magic. He’ll be fine.”  
Ink sighed. “Thanks again for the…” he glanced around at the other occupants of the bar. “You-know-what, Sci.”  
Sci rolled his eyes. “It’s not like Nightmare could hear you all the way from here, Ink. You’re being paranoid.”  
Ink stood up, helping Sci get up as well. “I just want this to happen so badly, Sci. It’s really important to me.”

Sci hummed in agreement. He had seen how the Creator behaved around Dream. Ink clearly loved him, although Dream seemed oblivious to his affections, seeing Ink instead as a good friend. But it would kill Ink from the inside out if Nightmare kept abusing his brother. That was the whole reason Sci had even agreed to this crazy idea. If it went wrong, heads were going to roll…  
He shook himself internally. That wasn’t going to happen. He had modified the potion perfectly.

“Let’s just go,” he said with a grunt, walking out of the bar. Ink jogged to keep up.  
“Thanks again, Sci,” Ink said, more serious than Sci had almost ever seen him.  
Sci turned away. This felt wrong somehow.  
“…Just go back to the Doodle Sphere already. Dream might need help or something.”  
Ink nodded and pulled his paintbrush from its holster on his back, creating a portal and jumping through. Seconds later, the “portal” had reverted back to its original form, a splash of purple and green paint that evaporated shortly after.  
Sci stared at it for a few seconds before making a shortcut of his own, trying to forget about what he had just done. He had work to do and calculations to run, and he was already late…

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dream was sitting on the couch, holding his teddy bear, Sir Snuffles, close to his chest. He was tired, but he wanted to wait for Ink to come back before going to bed. The Creator might need his healing magic if Ink had gotten into a fight… again….  
Who was he kidding? If he knew Ink, there was no “if”. Ink had gotten into a fight somewhere, somehow, for the fourth time this week, and Dream needed to be able to heal him if it was bad like the last few times.

Eventually, Ink stumbled through a portal into the middle of the living room, regaining his balance after a few steps. Dream perked up immediately.  
“Ink! What happened? Where were you?”  
Ink froze. What did he say now? “Uh…”  
Dream gasped as he took in Ink’s injuries. Two of his ribs were cracked and marrow was dripping out at a constant, lazy pace, his skull had a few hairline fractures, and he was holding his right arm, his paintbrush arm, in an awkward position as if it were twisted.  
“Ink! What happened out there? What did you do?!” he demanded.  
“Uh- I ran into Error,” Ink admitted. “Sorry, but he was destroying a FlowerTale AU. Those are some of my favorites! I couldn’t just let him get away with it…” his facial expression became sullen.  
Dream sighed. “You need to be more careful. Here, let me heal you up…” he reached out with an arm to extend his healing magic, weak as it was from his sickness, into Ink’s bones.  
“Hey, stop!” Ink protested. “You’re not going to get better if you expound your magic on every little thing!”  
“Shush and let me focus.” Dream’s hand began to glow a warm golden yellow, channeling healing magic into Ink’s tired and battered body, funneling the energy from his own Soul to do so.  
Ink’s injuries slowly began to close as Dream shifted his hand to cover all of them, one by one, wincing as he read in between the lines. A fractured right wrist showed that Ink’s paintbrush had probably been grabbed and swung around, breaking it. Fractured femurs showed that Ink had probably fallen from a great height or at a very bad angle. A slightly askew jawbone showed remnants of a hard impact.  
The crown jewel of it all was Ink’s skull- a dent on the left side, cracks flowing like spiderwebs from around the impact point. Dream cringed as he gingerly touched this last injury, healing it slowly as he had done all the rest.  
“What did Error do to get you this beat up?” Dream asked quietly. It had never really been this heated over just a single AU before.  
Ink looked away before answering. “…I just didn’t feel like retreating. So I kept going.”  
“Until when?” Dream was almost finished healing Ink’s skull. The latter was sitting on the floor in front of the couch so Dream could heal him without having to stand and stretch.  
“Until Error got tired of fighting and just left the AU and all the people in it unharmed,” Ink said cheerfully. “I was pretty beat up until my healing magic kicked in, but I managed to crawl back home to you.”  
Dream sighed, removing his hand from Ink’s skull. “How do you feel now? Are you okay?”  
“I’d feel better if you weren’t exerting yourself waiting up for me and healing me,” a disgruntled Ink replied, scooting onto the couch to sit next to Dream, who was still clutching his teddy bear close to his chest.  
Dream hugged Ink suddenly, making the latter freeze.  
“You’re worth it, Inky,” he said with a smile.  
Ink hugged back slowly, a smile spreading across his face to match the warm feeling inside. Dream thought that he was worth it… and he had called him by the same nickname that Nightmare and Error did. But when Dream used it, it sounded loving and caring. Ink found himself wishing that Dream called him that all the time.  
“Worth it or not, Dream, you should be in bed by now,” he said, much more cheerfully than before. “So should I. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”  
Dream nodded with a stifled yawn and picked up his blanket, rewrapping it around himself snugly. “’Kay, Ink. Night!”  
The cheerful little skeleton walked out of the room towards his bedroom. Ink looked after him happily.  
He couldn’t get his Soul to calm down… why did he feel so excited all of a sudden? It was just a few words…  
He shook his head. He had things to do. People he needed to contact.  
He was so close. He wouldn’t let anything, feelings least of all, get in the way of Nightmare’s eradication.  
Even ones about Dream.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

TIMESKIP Ü

Nightmare was standing on a hill in an original Undertale AU copy, a smirk on his face, tentacles waving behind him as he watched his gang spread terror and negativity throughout the AU, killing all the inhabitants and generally just causing mayhem everywhere.

Smoke rose from Snowdin, the last surviving town, as screams rang out. the Sans was no doubt putting up a fight, but with the human taken care of, there was nothing he could do against all four of his gang.  
The negativity was almost overpowering here, energizing Nightmare as he absorbed it from the atmosphere. He was at least twice as powerful here as he would be in a regular AU.

Suddenly, Nightmare stiffened. there was a presence here that he would know anywhere- a beacon of creativity and light so bright it hurt his head. Inky.  
Nightmare turned around, pinpointing the creator's location easily. But he wasn't alone. Somehow, he had roped Blueberry, Comic and Fell into whatever he was planning.  
"Hiya, Inky," the Guardian of Negativity said nonchalantly, looking completely at ease to the other four skeletons. "Decided not to bring my brother this time? It's rude to hog all the fun for yourself, you know."  
Ink fumed visibly. Nightmare chuckled softly at being able to rile him so easily.  
"This ends today, Nightmare!" the colorful skeleton growled. "I won't let you hurt Dream anymore!"  
"Now you sound like someone out of a Disney movie," Nightmare deadpanned.

Ink let out a furious and annoyed battle yell and lunged at Nightmare with his paintbrush.  
"…And now you just sound like a dying yak," the goopy skeleton said with a smirk, easily dodging the paintbrush and lashing out with his tentacles.

Fell, Blue and Comic all formed Gaster Blasters surrounding Nightmare, powering them up. Ink jumped out of the way right before the ring closed.  
The confident smiles on the faces of the other skeletons turned to shocked expressions as black projectiles stabbed the Blasters, destroying them before careening back to refuse with Nightmare like some sort of shadowy boomerang.  
Nightmare smirked. they were fighting him on, loosely speaking, his own turf. he was stronger here, and once his boys finished up and came to help, Ink and his allies were done for.

Ink shot a swathe of paint Nightmare's direction before charging at him again. Nightmare sidestepped the paint, but was taken off-guard by Ink's sudden rush and got clipped in the ribcage before he could leap out of the way.  
Nightmare retaliated with sharpened tendrils, one coming close enough to shred the end of Ink's scarf.  
Blue and Comic formed bone attacks and sent them hurtling at Nightmare, Fell trying again for a Gaster Blaster attack.  
Nightmare sent sharpened projectiles of his own inky tendrils to cancel out the bone attacks, sidestepping the Gaster Blaster at the last second. For good measure, he sent one more wave of projectiles at Ink's three allies, making them scatter.  
Fell had got out without a scratch, but Comic had a shard of Nightmare's corruption stuck in his femur, and Blue had two- one sticking out of his lower ribcage, one completely impaled in his hand, blood seeping slowly through his shirt and glove.

Ink glared at Nightmare, who simply smirked, narrowing his single eye mockingly. All their negative emotions were only fueling him.  
Ink was frustrated. he needed to get close enough to splash the vial on Nightmare without any getting on him, and without him getting impaled. It was seeming to be impossible, especially with Blue and Comic already injured...  
"Having a bit of trouble, Inky?" Nightmare taunted, making Ink grind his teeth together furiously. When Dream called him that, it sounded nice and affectionate. now, it sounded like a slap to the face.

"My boys will be here any moment, Inky. You've got no reinforcements coming. Just give up," Nightmare snorted. "You'll never win."  
Ink glared at his enemy angrily. Why wasn't this working?!

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dream was watching some television as he waited for Ink to come home, holding Sir Snuffles close to his chest. He felt perfectly fine now , but Ink wouldn't let him go to the store with him today, saying he should rest instead.

Dream had sullenly agreed when he saw how bent on it Ink was, but he was secretly keeping tabs on the amount of negativity in the Multiverse. if there was a huge spike, that meant that Ink had gotten into a fight, and Dream would be there to help him, orders or no orders.  
Halfway through the movie "Frozen", there was a gigantic raise in negativity in an Undertale AU copy.  
Dream groaned internally, resting his teddy bear on the sofa and pausing the movie, getting his staff. Leave it to Ink to turn something as simple as a trip to the store into an all-out brawl. He was impossible.  
Dream teleported to the AU to give Ink some backup.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightmare was busy battling Ink's little friends, Ink being preoccupied with fighting all four of his gang members. Blue was in pretty bad shape, with shafts of Nightmare's corruption stabbed deep into his ankle and ribcage, one shard completely impaling the palm of his hand. Fell and Comic weren' doing much better, both with small projeciles sticking out of their ribcages

"You shouldn't have come here. It's not your fight," Nightmare growled. "And now you'll pay for meddling in my affairs."

He raised a tentacle and swiped it viciously across th chests of the other skeletons, knocking them to the ground. He stood over them, smirking victoriously, three more tentacles ready to impale their Souls. Blue couldn't move, the other skeletons were winded, and Ink was busy with his own furious battle.  
"Say g'night," Nightmare said in a mocking sing-song voice, stabbing his tendrils down to kill the others lying prone on the ground. Blue closed his eyes with a whimper, too weak to do anything. Comic did the same. and Fell just glared in defiance at the incoming spears of corruption.

But the tentacles never hit their marks.

three blurs of golden-white shot by, destroying Nightmare's summoned tendrils, severing them as if they were water.  
Nightmare took a step back, shocked for a second, before realization dawned on his face. He turned to where the golden blurs had come from. He snarled in displeasure.

Ink had seen the fight with Nightmare, Blue, Fell and Comic from afar, but he was otherwise preoccupied with Nightmare's goons. However, a golden trio of streaks of light caught his attention. He turned to the source.

On top of a hill, there stood a figure with a yellow and white cape, a golden crown, and a determined expression. He had a bow raised in his hands, a shining, metalic glowing golden arrow resting on the string.

Ink gasped.  
"Dream!!"


	4. Truth Hurts, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OH SNAPPLE Dream showed up on the scene :3  
> What's happening now?
> 
> THE CONTINUATION YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR HAS ARRIVED AHHHH  
> Big shoutout to xXUndertale_LoverXx for helping edit, go check out their works, it's amazing uwu

Ink was furious and worried at the same time. “Dream! Why are you here? I told you to stay at home! You agreed!”  
“Well, yeah, and you told me you were going shopping! I guess neither of us told the truth!” Dream retorted.  
Ink flushed angrily. “That doesn’t justify-”  
Dream ignored him, launching another barrage of arrows at Nightmare. The inky black skeleton hissed in displeasure, turning away from the injured skeletons on the ground to go after Dream.  
Ink was once again fighting all four of Nightmare’s minions, dodging knives, bone attacks, axe blows and sword lunges while attacking sporadically with his paintbrush. He would have time to lecture Dream later.  
Dream was prepared for Nightmare’s rush this time, sidestepping his brother easily and shooting him in the back. Nightmare stumbled back before regaining his balance, snarling as he pulled the glowing arrow out with a spare tentacle.  
He lashed out with his tentacles at Dream, the latter barely dodging them. He didn’t have time to use his bow and arrow anymore- it wasn’t a good close-combat weapon.  
He converted the bow into his staff to wield off some of the closer tendrils, knocking them off-target. He was getting tired…  
Suddenly, Dream saw and opening in Nightmare’s guard and rushed forwards, jabbing him with his staff.  
Nightmare jumped back, wincing with an animalistic growl. The corruption was punctured through his chest, leaving a small dent from Dream’s staff.  
Nightmare scowled at Dream, the corruption already oozing back to fill in the gap in his chest. He wasn’t going to win this on defensive.  
Nightmare shot a barrage of shadow projectiles at his brother with a vengeance- launching so many of them that he was temporarily obscured from view.  
Dream dodged most of them, whirling his bow, creating a shield that protected him from the shards of corruption.  
He looked around. Where was Nightma-?  
A smooth, moist feeling thing tapped Dream’s shoulder. He whirled around, bringing his staff upwards to slam it down on Nightmare’s skull.  
The staff stopped in midair, held aloft by one of his brother’s tentacles.  
Dream’s eyelights shrunk ever so slightly.  
More tendrils wrapped around Dream in a flash, trapping his arms to his sides and yanking his staff out of his grip. Two tentacles cracked it in half with a clean snapping sound. Dream winced.  
His eyelights began to shrink more as Nightmare lowered Dream slightly to look into his eyes.  
“Got you~”  
Dream shook. “b-brother, please! You didn’t kill me last time. You’re still in there! I don’t care what Ink says, you’re still in there, just waiting to break through all that negativity! C-come back to me, please!”  
Nightmare paused, looking Dream in the eyes. His brother met his gaze hopefully.  
Then he began to laugh.  
“Ahahahahahaha! Oh my stars, I can’t even- pfft- hahahah!”  
Dream’s eyes widened. “W-what?”  
Nightmare wiped a tear away from his single eye. “You think I didn’t kill you because I didn’t want to? You’ve always been an absolute idiot, Dream. Do you think that I don’t want you suffering and dead at my feet? Because I do. And believe me, while I might not have done it a few days ago…”  
His tentacles tightened threateningly around Dream, his eyelights completely vanishing. Nightmare brought Dream closer to him, whispering maliciously into his nonexistent ear.  
“I will definitely do it today… dear B r o t h e r .”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ink was busy deflecting sharp things thrown or swung at him from Nightmare’s henchmen to really care about Dream’s fight.  
Horror swung his axe at Ink’s head. Ink blocked it with his paintbrush and swept his legs out from under him.  
Killer attacked with his sword, nicking Ink’s skull. Dust launched a volley of sharp bone attacks at the Creator.  
Ink barely dodged Killer’s blade and launched spatters of acidic paint to cancel out Dust’s attack.  
He heard a small sizzling sound and turned around quickly, brush held at the ready for yet another threat.  
Ink was suddenly launched across the ground, skidding to a stop wearily. Cross was standing atop a floating Gaster Blaster, smoke rising from its mouth as it recharged another beam of pure energy to launch at him.  
Ink rolled out of the way at the last second, wincing as he climbed to his feet. That direct hit from Cross’s Blaster had done some serious damage. He hoped Dream was doing better with his fight…  
Ink glanced Dream’s way, and his eyelights disappeared completely, his marrow running cold.  
Nightmare had Dream trapped in his tentacles, a lone tendril raised to strike at his Soul at any moment. The corrupted skeleton was whispering something to his brother, who was helpless- Dream’s staff was cracked in two and thrown away from him.

Ink dashed forwards, ignoring the shooting pains going up his leg as he ran. Why wasn’t Nightmare attacking? He had him at his MERCY!  
Ink could see that he wouldn’t get there in time. Nightmare was pulling back his sharpened tentacle for better leverage to pierce Dream’s Soul with. Desperate, Ink reached into his sash for the vial of potion given to him by Sci, silently praying to F4T3 and LUCK for help. He grabbed the vial and threw it with all the strength he had left.

The vial spiraled lazily through the air, turning end over end as it flew. Ink stared at the shining yet fragile glass vial as he dropped to his knees, spent.

Nightmare turned around as a sharp pain erupted in his back. He extracted a still-dripping, broken vial with jagged edges from his corrupted skin and looked at it suspiciously, turning towards the direction that the vial was thrown at him from.

"What was that for?" He asked Ink, who was kneeling down, hyperventilating, his legs completely given up on him. "What were you trying to do, tie-dye my clothing? I knew you were pathetic, Inky, but not that pathetic."

He turned back to Dream. "But hey, now you can watch your little friend die! Fun for everyone!" Nightmare laughed, raising his tentacle further, about to stab his brother's Soul. "Say goodbye, Dreamy~"

Ink was panicking. Why wasn't it working?! He couldn't do anything else- his paintbrush had been knocked away from him when he fell, and he couldn't crawl to it in time.  
Dream was going to die in front of him and it was all his fault and he COULDN'T DO ANYTHING-

The tendril shot towards Dream. "Bye bye, Brother."  
Ink tried to scream, but no sound came out. His throat wouldn't work. His Soul pounded painfully.

The tendril stabbed Dream's ribcage with a slight burst of dust-  
and flowed through his bones like water through a grate.

Nightmare's face slowly turned from one of triumph to one of confusion. "What the-"  
He quickly stabbed another tentacle at his brother's Soul, with the same results. Nightmare stared at his hands, stunned. What was happening? His tentacles were strong enough to stab through solid diamond- they could easily break bone!

Dream opened one eye tentatively, shaking as much as the tentacles keeping him hostage would let him.

Nightmare held a hand to his temple as if in pain, wincing. His tentacles completely evaporated, absorbing into his inky body.  
"Wh-what did you do to me?!" he growled at Ink, who was trying to get to his feet.  
Ink decided not to respond.

Dream stood up shakily, staring at Nightmare. "I knew you couldn't do it, Nightmare! You're still here somewhere! Let me help you, please!"  
"SHUT UP- urgghhh!!" Nightmare stumbled, almost falling.  
The ooze began to recede from Nightmare's body, leaving white bones and black clothing in their wake. The corrupted skeleton collapsed.  
Dream stared at him unbelievingly, eyelights still unsummoned. What was going on?

Horror, Dust, Killer and Cross were watching what was going on. At Nightmare's scream, they had rushed forwards, keeping their distance, but only just. They were unnerved and shocked at what was happening to the God of Negativity. Nightmare was now almost completely clean of the ooze that usually surrounded him, curled up in pain on the ground. They were slightly hesitant to go help, though. Was this a trick of thier boss's, or something the Star Sanses had done?

Dream gasped as Nightmare collapsed and curled up in pain, CHECKING him, his stats on display for the entire company to see.

NIGHTMARE!SANS

LV: 936584

HP: 9/500 ! Critical/Falling Down !

EXP: 93467435

ATK: 3RR0R-9454-0-2-$3#

DF: 0.98/500 

The Guardian of Negativity and Nightmares.  
Corrupted by the Apples from the Tree of Life.

**W H A T I S H A P P E N I N G T O M E ? ! ? ! **

Dream raised a hand to his mouth, not believing what he was reading. Why was this happening??

Horror took initiative and rushed forwards, body-checking Dream out of the way. Cross, Dust and Killer followed quickly, Dust kneeling next to Nightmare.  
"Boss?! What's happening??" he gasped, trying to force healing Magic into Nightmare's Soul.  
Dust was stunned when his Magic wouldn't be accepted by his Boss's Soul, instead bouncing off as if something was creating a barrier between the two.  
"No i'm not okay, what does it look like?! Ink threw something at me and- AaArRgGhHhHhH!!!"  
Nightmare ended his sentence in a rattling gasp, his HP dropping four points at once.  
Cross dropped to his knees as well, adding his healing Magic to Dust's. "Hold on! We can fix this- just hold on!"

Nightmare was hyperventilating by now, completely unresponsive, trembling sporadically. When his magic didn't work either, Cross picked him up and formed a portal to a random AU, running through and leaving it open for the other gang members. Horror and Dust followed quickly.

Killer stared at Dream fiercely. "What did you do to him?!"  
Dream took a step back timidly. "I don't know! What's going on??"  
Killer turned to face Ink. "Y o u. You threw something at him. You did all this, didn't you?!"  
Dream looked back at Ink, his eyes pleading. "Ink? You didn't, right?"  
Ink refused to meet his gaze, instead getting shakily to his feet and picking up his paintbrush, pointing it at Killer.  
"Leave. And don't come back. Without Nightmare, you'll have no power."

Kiler's expression froze as he processed what this meant.  
"You... idiot!! Whyy would you even- gaah!!" He sprang through the portal. Inky was lying. He had to be. Nightmare couldn't die, right? He was a Guardian, that was as good as a God! He wouldn't be dusted by a vial of whatever Ink threw at him!  
The portal dissolved, becoming just a few wisps of smoke in the wind, leaving no remnant of the shortcut.

Ink was panting with exhaustioon and relieved beyond belief. It had worked! He had done it! He made a mental note to thank Sci profusely later. He used the tip of his paintbrush like a cane to lean on, wiping sweat from his forehead. he had the strangest feeling he was forgetting something, but didn't have the energy to care right now.

"...Ink?"

Ink looked up to see Dream, his eyesockets slightly teary. Oh, right... Dream had come to the battle.

"Ink, what happened? What did you do?"

Ink didn't really have the energy to think up a plausible excuse at the moment. "Um..."  
"Please, please, pleasse don't tell me that you did that to Nightmare! Please!" Dream looked at him desperately.

Ink sighed after a short pause. "...We need to have a talk."

"About WHAT?!" Dream shouted, confused and hurt. "Just answer me, Ink!"

Ink looked away, creating a portal with his paintbrush back to the Doodle Sphere. "Not right now. There's... someone who can explain it better than i can."  
"INK!!!" Dream yelled, eyelights still refusing to appear.

Ink slowly nodded his head yes. He couldn't lie to Dream.

Dream took a step back, dropping his staff. "What... why? What's going to happen to him?" his voice was shaking.

"Come on. I said i'd tell you later." Ink walked through the portal, wincing as he landed awkwardly on the other side.

Dream slowly picked up his staff and walked through the portal as well. Stars there had better be a very good explination for all of this...

Ink quickly slipped his phone out of his pocket and began to text Sci. He wasn't going to take all the blame for this, and Sci could explain it better, anyway. The real hard part was over, right? Dream would understand.  
Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop a Kudos if you liked!  
> -Pitch


	5. Truth Hurts, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WELP :/  
> Ink has DUG HISSELF INTO A HOLE THIS TIME....  
> What is he going to tell Dream? How does Sci explain his and Ink's actions?  
> D R A M A :3c

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to xXUndertale_LoverXx, who helped edit~!

Sci picked up his phone. Another text from Ink. Today was one of his off days, and he really didn't want another fiasco with Ink to ruin it...  
Eventually, curiousity got the better of him, and he unlocked his phone.

\---  
Ink: Hey Sci its an emergency  
\---

Sci frowned. What did he mean?

\---  
Sci: You're gonna have to be more specific. Did Nightmare's potion not work?

Ink: No, it worked perfectly, he's dead by now, its something else  
\---

Sci let out a shaky breath. So it wasn't that Nightmare was coming after him for trying to kill him.

\---  
Sci: Then what's the emergency

Ink: Dream was there  
\---

Sci paused. What was going on?

\---  
Sci: Dream was there when

Ink: When i splashed the vial on NM  
\---

Sci froze. Ink began texting him nonstop.

\---  
Ink: So uh he saw everything

Ink: And i promised to explain

Ink: So could you come over

Ink: And explain like exactly what happened

Ink: Please  
\---

Sci was shocked. Ink had ONE THING TO DO here, NOT LET DREAM SEE, and what happened? He saw. And now Sci was roped back into this whole mess again...  
He sighed angrily. His concience wouldn't let him refuse. Dream had a right to know what happened, and it wasn't Sci's fault after all.

\---  
Sci: Fine but i'm not taking fallout

Ink: Oh thank Stars we're at my house plz hurry

Sci: Fine  
\---

Sci shut off his phone and opened a portal to Ink's base in the Doodle Sphere, coming through in the kitchen. This was not going to be fun...

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dream was staring at the floor, hugging his teddy bear tightly to his chest. His eyelights hadn't come back the entire time he was waiting for Ink and whoever he was texting to come and explain what he had done to Nightmare. Dream shuddered as he remembered his brother writhing on the floor. He prayed that it wasn't the obvious. Ink wouldn't do that to him. He wouldn't! He clutched Sir Snuffles closer to him, sniffling softly.

The bear had always been a replacement for sleeping with Nightmare like he used to in the Tree. Nightmare had almost always slept with him in the branches in the canopy, chasing away night terrors and comforting him whenever he felt down. Without him, Dream slept fitfully, even with his teddy bear. the Guardian of Positivity plagued by nightmares- who would've thought it would come to this?  
Dream had always imagined that one day, his brother would come back to him, and they would sleep together again. That he'd apologize for the things he did while corrupted. That Dream would apologize for hurting him. That everything would turn out all right in the end.

Now that would never happen, ever.

Dream was an optimist, certainly… but no matter how he racked his brain for excuses, Nightmare had been Falling Down. And it was Ink's fault.  
He hugged Sir Snuffles tighter. the bear was partially made from the fabric of Nightmare's cape- the only thing left of his brother now.  
He was probably dead by this point...  
Dream buried his face in the stuffed animal, eye sockets tearing up. Ink had to have a reason. It had to be fake or something.... it just had to be!

He looked up, hearing two pairs of footsteps in the hall aproaching him.

Sci and Ink walked in, sitting on a sofa opposite Dream. Ink coughed awkwardly.  
"Dream, meet Sci. He's one of my friends, and really smart. He can tell you what happened, right, Sci?"

Sci groaned. No tactfulness whatever. Thanks a lot, Ink.

Dream stared at the new skeleton desperately. "Please?"

'Sci' rubbed his temples.  
"Um... a few weeks ago, Ink asked me if, um... i could make him a potion. For Nightmare."

Dream was still staring at him.

"It was supposed to... get rid of Nightmare. Permenantley."

Dream's eye sockets widened. "What... what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means Ink asked me to make a potion to kill any mortal."

Dream's brow furrowed. "But what does that have to do with Nightmare?"

Sci looked away.  
"It... that was the same potion that hurt Nightmare earlier today."

Dream stared with tears in his eyes. "Wh... does that mean...?"

Sci kept his gaze averted. "Ink killed Nightmare with it, Dream. He's dead by now."

Dream was completely unresponsive for a few seconds, and then he blinked, a tear running down his skull.  
"...why...?

Sci closed his eyes. ".......... I... Dream, he was going to kill you someday. I couldn't live with that..."

"WELL NOW I CAN'T LIVE WITH MYSELF!!!"

Sci finally made eye contact with Dream, shocked. He'd never heard the positive skeleton scream before...

"Wha- Dream, that doesn't- this isn't my fault!-"

Dream glared at him. "YOU made the STUPID POTION THING. YOU AS GOOD AS KILLED HIM YOURSELF."  
He buried his face into Sir Snuffle's fluffy body, trying not to cry.

Sci was silent. He finally got up to leave. He didn't want to be there when Ink tried to excuse himself of the crime...

"Dream."

Dream looked at Ink, crying silently.  
"How could he just kill Nightmare....." he said hoarsely, looking to Ink for comfort.

Ink looked away. "Dream, buddy, he didn't throw the potion, and he didn't ask for it. If you're gonna blame anyone..."

Dream stared at him, tears drying up slowly.

"You killed my brother ?"

Ink met Dream's eyes, or tried to... Dream's eyelights hadn't reappeared this entire time. "Dream... yes. If you're gonna put it that way... but how many copies did Nightmare ruin? How many people and Monsters did HE kill??"

Dream stood up silently, looking at the ground. "I don't know."

"Probably MILLIONS by now, Dream! Millions of innocent people killed! Face it, Nightmare got what was coming to him-"

CRACK

Ink was knocked backward, shocked, as he held his cheek, which was ever so slightly fractured from the blow. "Wh-"

"YOU I D I O T!!!!!!!!!"

Ink stared blankly at Dream, stunned.

"Do you think Nightmare WANTED to kill all those people?! He wasn't in control! That was an INNOCENT PERSON you murdered, Ink!!"

Ink spluttered defensively. "C-come on, Dream, then it was a mercy killing, Nightmare never would have come back-"  
"AND NOW HE NEVER WILL!!" Dream's eyelights had finally come back, flaring a deep angry red. "You told me you thought he was coming back, too! you lied to me!"

Ink had never seen Dream mad like this.  
"Dream... i just didn't want you to get hurt anymore...."

Dream backed away. "What you d-did was worse than anything he ever did to me."  
Ink reached out placatingly. "Come on, Dreamy, Sci and I only wanted the best for you-"  
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!"

Dream was struggling to hold in his tears.  
"Don't call me that! I hate both of you! you're both awful and evil and stupid and- and i hate you!!"  
The little skeleton ran out of the room, still holding his teddy bear.

\--------------------------

Dream was curled up in his bed.  
He wasn't crying anymore. That wasn't because he didn't want to. He literally felt as if he couldn't cry ever again. he was completely exhausted.  
...  
How could Ink have done that to Nightmare? to HIM?

He felt so betrayed.

He curled up tighter, hugging Sir Snuffles. the fabric of the bear still had a faint magic residue from his brother.... back when he was still uncorrupted.  
Memories flashed through his mind.  
Nightmare and him, playing at the foot of the tree.  
Getting ice cream together at the village nearby.  
Swimming in the lake with the friendly mer-monsters.  
celebrating their birthdays for the first time ever.  
Trying to cook something using the old barbeque at the meadow and ending up covered in soot.  
Nightmare making Dream Sir Snuffles...  
+++++++++  
"What is this for, Brother?" Dream gasped, reaching out hesitantly to take the bear.  
Nightmare rubbed the back of his vertebrae. "Um... it's just... you did so much for me, Dream. I don't know if I'll always be here, but... i would love it if you would remember me. No matter what happens to me."  
Dream snuggled into Nightmare's side. "Brother! I would never forget about you, ever. You mean too muxh to me for that!"  
"So you like the bear, then?" Nightmare asked hopefully.  
Dream held it close to his chest. it was beautiful and fun to cuddle, and best of all, it was from his brother. "yes. I love it, Brother, just like I love you."  
Nightmare leaned into Dream in the upper canopy of the Tree, looking contentedly into the sunset. the panorama of colors was beautiful, and it never got old, just like stargazing.  
"I love you too, Brother."

The two fell asleep together, held safely by a nest of branches.

+++++++++

Dream began crying again, his whimpers slowly growing into full-fledged sobs as he remembered things that he had done with his brother. Every hard day, when he felt like just giving up, when he felt like one more pile of dust wouldn't matter to anyone, he'd remember his brother. And how, someday, Nightmare would come back. That it was only a matter of time. All the times Nightmare could have killed him... but he never did, no matter how many times it happened. He always stalled long enough for someone to save him, or for him to save himself. that was proof that Nightmare had to be in there somewhere, right? and one day, he would have the strength to break through the corruption and to escape. To come back to Dream. And everything would be all right again...  
But now that would never happen.  
Nightmare was dead.

He didn't understand what happened! Nightmare was supposed to be a Guardian! Guardians were supposed to be as good as Gods, right? that's what Nighty always told him whenever he was worried about thw villagers hurting or killing him.

"Aww, don't worry, Bro! Guardians are just as good as Gods. We don't die, okay?"

If only that had been true...

Someone knocked on Dream's bedroom door, jolting him back to reality. "G-g-go away."

"Dream?" It was Ink, his voice slightly muffled. "Dream, i need to talk to you-"  
"S-so you can finish the j-job and kill me, too?" Dream sniffled angrily. He didn't even register what he had said- he just wanted to be alone.

Why did Ink always have to SCREW EVERYTHING UP?!

"Wh-what?! Dream, No! I only want what's best for you, and-"  
Dream just wanted to cry alone.  
"Th-then go jump in the Void and LEAVE ME THE HECK ALONE!!!" Dream buried his head into his pillow, feeling a dull relief when he heard Ink's footsteps disappear elsewhere.

Ink didn't say anything and slowly walked away.  
His cheeck was bandaged where Dream had slapped him- just his luck they were out of healing gel today. he'd get some more, but he didn't feel like leaving Dream alone in his current state.  
He sat down on the loveseat with a sore and pained wince, putting his skull into his hands.  
He did this for Dream. For his good. and even if Dream hated him for it for the rest of his life, it was going to be worth it. Nightmare would never hurt Dream again.  
...  
Why, oh why did Dream have to come save his butt? Why did he have to see? Why couldn't Ink have ambushed the Dark Sanses when Dream was sleeping? It would have prevented most of this...  
Why did he have to be so impulsive?  
Ink groaned, curling up on the couch. He ddidn't eel like even teleporting to his own bed.  
Stars, he had really messed up this time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next chapter,  
> -Pitch


	6. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow after everything that happened last chapter... what happened to the Dark Sanses? Are they still speading negativity, or what happened there?  
> And how are Ink and Dream getting along? They fought pretty badly last chapter...
> 
> FIND OUT TODAY!!!
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx helped with editing. Thank you SO MUCH my dude!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SOOOO  
> Just some clarification about this Multiverse bc its a little different here!  
> Ink is not SUPER CRAZY about Creation here, so Error doesn't do his job often, he just hangs out in the Anti-Void or at Nightmare's base mostly.  
> HOWEVER since Dream LOVES positivity Ink works REALLY hard to influence that in the Multiverse, which means that Nightmare and his gang are working super hard to keep the Balance with emotions. Error helps sometimes, but not super often. He prefers clean kills to causing misery.  
> See you at the end!  
> -Pitch

Ink and Dream were sitting in the living room, the atmosphere awkward.

Ink was trying not to look at Dream. He had really, really messed up a few days ago... why had he let Dream see him killing Nightmare? He had thought it would be worth it not to see Dream hurt anymore, but maybe that wasn't the best choice of action....

Dream wasn't looking at anything whatsoever. He didn't care. Nightmare was dead and it was Ink and Sci's faults and he hated them both and he would never forgive them, never. He carried his stuffed bear, Sir Snuffles, with him everywhere now, the faint magical residue from his brother the only reminder he had left other than his memories.

Ink was fiddling with his sash. The last few days had been tense and painful for him. Dream would never understand...

Ink winced as a small pain ran through his ribs. He hadn't eaten in a long time, and those small pains were becoming more and more frequent...

"D-Dream? Do you want anything to eat?" he asked quietly.

"Not from you." Dream glared at the floor pointedly.

Ink sighed and got up, walking towards the kitchen. Dream needed to eat, too. He didn't understand why he was so angry over Nightmare...

Ink reached the kitchen and pulled out some waffles from the freezer, stumbling awkwardly on his way to the toaster. He only just regained his balance by grabbing at the edge of the counter. Ink sighed. He was so tired... he hadn't slept in what felt like ages...

He slipped the waffles into the toaster and waited blandly until they popped up, placing one on a plate for Dream and grabbing the other one in a napkin, forcing himself to take a few bites on the way back to the living room.

"Dream, you have to eat," Ink pleaded, putting the plate next to the bright Guardian of Creativity.

Dream shuffled away from it. "No I don't."

"Please, Dream," Ink begged, sitting down next to him. "What's going on? What's wrong?"

Dream looked up at Ink unbelivingly. "What's wrong? What's WRONG? HUMM, LET ME THINK. Maybe it might be that my BEST FRIEND IS A FREAKING MURDERER and he freaking KILLED MY BROTHER?!"

Ink cringed away. "Dream, I was only trying to protect you!"

Dream snorted. "How was that protecting me? Ink, you lied to me, plain and simple."

Ink looked at his feet. "He kept hurting you, every time you fought. Every single time, and it just.... I couldn't let it keep happening. It was going to kill you eventually."

"Oh, so now he's an 'it'?" Dream sneered. "Forget it."

"But-"

"NO."

Dream was glaring directly at Ink, fury and disappointment in his stare. "I said I'm done with this. With you."

Ink couldn't say anything. His throat wouldn't work. His mouth was dry.

"I've had enough. You lied to me and you murdered my brother and then you pretend it was all for my good. I don't want you and I don't need you."

Dream got up from the couch, heading to his room.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Ink said in a rasping voice.

Dream barely gave him a glance. "None of your business."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ink was sketching a picture on the couch half-heartedly, still thinking about Dream.

"I don't want you..."

The picture in the notebook was one of Dream himself, sitting peacefully at the Waterfall in Undertale, flowers swirling around him.

...

Why couldn't Dream see that it was all for his own good??

Why couldn't Ink make Dream see that he was meant for him, that it was made in the stars, that they were meant to be?

The Guardian of Positivity and the God of Creation. An unstoppable team...

There had to be a way to make Dream see that Ink was his perfect mate. Ink would tear up the world for Dream, he would do anything for him.

.... even kill for him, as it turned out.

Ink paused.

His Soul felt... weird... after that. He supposed it was only his LV to blame, not himself. He was just as awesome and amazing as ever, it just felt off. He'd take more of his paints to make up for the void.

Wasn't that what everyone wanted, someone who could be anyone? Ink could be cold and unfeeling, or warm and lazy, or happy and excitable, any time and every time that Dream would want him. He could, and would, change himself in almost any way or aspect. Dream would never get tired of him. He was the perfect mate for Dream...

So why couldn't Dream see it?

Ink sighed, putting his pencil down. The drawing would never look as good as the real thing...

A shooting pain ran down Ink's spine, jolting him out of his thoughts.

He groaned. Of all the times for Nightmare and his gang to be spreading negativity...

Wait. Nightmare was dead. Ink had killed him.

This was just his gang, right?

"Oww...." It hurt just as much, though. Drat. He would've thought that without Nightmare helping, they would've hurt less. Apparently not.

He hesitated, slowly getting up and walking to Dream's door, knocking softly.

"Why are you here."

Ink cringed back slightly at Dream's venomous comment, opening the door a crack.

"Um. Nightmare's gang are corrupting AUs again..."

"...And you want to finish the job?" Dream asked bitterly, getting off of his bed and glaring at the colorful Creator.

"N-no! It just... hurts, and I know it hurts you too, and it's our job to stop it. Can you come?" He pleaded, hands twitching awkwardly. He wasn't a baseless murderer with a thirst for blood! Why couldn't Dream understand that?

"Yeah, yeah, i know, i know," Dream growled angrily, throwing the door open and stomping to the living room.

Ink hesitated, pulling out his brush as he followed Dream, not yet making a portal. "If you're not up to it, I mean..."

"Just shut up and make the portal." Dream was gritting his teeth, bow already summoned and ready to fire.

Ink nodded and painted a portal quickly, wincing as another sharp pain shot through his sternum. "H-here."

Dream stormed through the portal without another word, and Ink followed, the portal dissolving into thin air behind them.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The AU was a mess, to put it quite frankly.

It had used to be a copy of Underswap- Underswap 134, to be precise- but now it was simply a charred ruin. Dust swirled through the wind, creating a chilling contrast to the black, brown and grey of the landscape. Trees were felled and set aflame, grass burned to a crisp, black ashes covering the ground, white specks littered among the char, spiralling upwards with every step of the two skeletons.

"What happened?"

Ink was shell-shocked, barely registering anything as he walked. The buildings that had used to be Snowdin Town were crumbled and blackened into almost nothing, the landscape disheveled and in ruin. The codes themselves were slowly crumbling down...

"S-stop.... please...."

Dream whirled around at the sound of a weak voice, seemingly coming from the ruins. "Hold on!"

He rushed to the source of the voice, gasping when he saw the Monster. Its legs were pinned with the rubble of a building.

"Ink! Come help, you idiot!" Dream snapped, lifting off some of the smaller rocks. Ink ran to them, quickly removing the rest with his paintbrush and gently pulling the Monster out of the rubble. "What happened here?" he asked quietly.

The Monster, which turned out to be Swap Papyrus, was almost unrecognizable with blood, dust and ashes, groaned.

"T-they came from everywhere... killled ev'rybody.... Sans..." he broke off in a coughing fit. Dream's eyes widened when he saw the bone impaled in Papyrus's Soul, slowly letting his magic out. He couldn't safely pull out the bone to begin healing him without dusting Papyrus, but if he let it stay there, his magic would leak and he would die anyway... it was a slow-killing, definitive mortal injury. Papyrus noticed their expressions. "S'okay," he grunted, face contorting in pain. "Nothin' you could do."

Ink stared in distraught as the Papyrus began to cough again, marrow and dust leaking out of the corners of his wound and jaw.

"Where are the people who did this?" Dream asked softly.

"That way, over there. But the screams stopped a while ago... dunno if they're still... there..." the lanky skeleton wheezed, gasping for breath.

Ink looked in the direction that Papyrus had pointed. The buildings there were completely demolished, ash choking the air. "...Yeah..."

"Why are you still alive?" Dream asked, eyelights tearing up. "They didn't leave anyone else, did they?"

Papyrus tried to shift his position, cringing in pain as he agitated his injury accidentally. "Nah. Only one that's left. Lucky me." his face contorted with a sneer of hatred.

"They wanted me to give ya a message, though," he continued weakly. "You're 'Dream' and 'Ink', right?"

The two skeletons looked at each other before nodding slowly.

"They said.... 'Don't think what you did changed anything. We're coming for you. All of us.' It sounded like one of those cheesy blackmail threats on MTT, or some sorta mega-bluff, to be honest... but after what they did next, I don't think they'd be the kinds to bluff anyone......" his voice trailed off.

Ink narrowed his eyes. That wasn't possible. Sci had confirmed the science. Nightmare was dead... so the message must have meant that all the Dark Sanses and their allies were coming for the Star Sanses and THEIR allies.

That had to be it.

Even still, that was quite a threat...

"W...what happened?" Dream asked timidly.

Papyrus sighed.

"They had already destroyed most of Snowdin an' the Underground when I got there. Alphys was dead, the Royal Guard was demolished... and they had Sans captured. I decided to hide until something happened, or Sans needed me."

"How many were there?" Ink asked, but Dream hushed him. "Let him tell the story."

"There were three at first," Papyrus recalled slowly. "One with this hole in his skull, one with a weird black and white outfit with x's all over it, and one with a grey hoodie and white speckled-pants. Those three killed pretty much everybody here, and were about to kill Sans when a fourth one showed up."

"What did he look like?" Ink asked, wincing when Dream elbowed him angrily.

"This black tar was coming out of his sockets," Papyrus said in a dull tone. "And he didn't have no eyelights. He told the other three to wait before they killed Sans, because of some 'orders' they had."

Dream put a hand to his mouth.

"But I killed Nightmare..." Ink whispered, horrified.

"Don't jump to conclusions," Dream snapped sharply, slightly panicked. "It's probably just Error taking charge. What did they do after that? Did they say who gave them the orders?"

"Um..." Papyrus huffed, trying to remember. "The one with the tar-sockets said something like, 'You know that Boss told us not to kill him until you-know-who comes'."

Dream's eyelights vanished, matching Ink's face.

"Coincidence. It has to be," murmered Ink. "What happened next?"

"I jumped outta the bushes to try to fight 'em off my bro," Papyrus said, hanging his head. "But they captured me with blue magic like it was a piece of cake. Slammed me up against a wall and made me watch as they... killed Sans." he stuttered slightly, sockets tearing up.

"Once they were done prolonging his ...death... they told me to tell you two that 'This was revenge for the Boss. We're not happy.'..."

He let his sentence trail off, evidently done with his story.

"But that makes it sound like Nightmare... this is so confusing..." Ink said, crossing his arms in frustration. "Why did they do this?"

"For revenge. Weren't you listening?" Dream snapped. He turned back to the Papyrus.

"We're so, so sorry this happened," he said quietly, almost in a whisper.

"Not... your fault...." he grunted softly, looking up at them with a pained grin. "Just... try to get 'em back for me, will ya? For my bro..."

"We promise," Dream whispered, reaching out and taking his hand gently.

"Thanks...." Papyrus's eyelights focused on them, then on the ash-filled sky above him, before unfocusing. His head tipped to the side, and a small cracking sound came from his chest.

In a few seconds, his bones shattered, turning to white dust that blew in the gentle winds soaring through the destroyed and crumbling AU, some clinging to Ink and Dream.

"Why?" Ink whispered angrily. "Why would they do this?"

"Because YOU decided to kill my brother," Dream snapped. "And now I don't know what's going on, or who is the 'Boss' controlling them, or how to make them stop doing this to every single AU they can reach! And it's all because you decided to be a stupid murdering jerk!"

Ink hung his head. He didn't say anything in his defense, even though his mind swirled with unrepentance. He would do it again in a heartbeat, over and over, if it meant that Dream was safe.

"Come on," Dream scoffed angrily. "We have to tell the others about this and warn their AUs."

Ink nodded and made a portal. "I'll inform the Star AUs."

Dream walked through the portal... well, more like stomped through the portal. Ink supposed he was still mad at him.

The brightly clothed Creator walked through the portal quickly as well after a short look at the landscape around himself. This AU felt... wrong.

About twenty minutes after the painted portal dissipated into nothing but a few wisps of multicolored smoke, the AU's code began to crumble, leaving nothing but Void and white and black space behind.

After an hour, the AU was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smash the kudos button if you liked it and want to see the series continue!  
> Yandere Ink is here to stay! -w-
> 
> See you next chapter,  
> -Pitch  
> 


	7. Q&A  (not actual chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SOOOOO  
> We got asked in the comments by a certain KB (guest) who wanted me and X to do a Q&A session thing for the next chapter.  
> DO NOT GET ME WRONG this book is NOT on hiatus, it's still updating on as regular a schedule as i can manage with my crazy life going on. This is just a little fun Q&A thing for us to do. So don't panic, you will get more ALN later! Think of this as a 300 reads and 50 kudoses bonus chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LETTUCE BEGIN TO TACO BOUT OUR LIVES!  
> *winces and dodges tomatoes* IM SORRY IM SORRY  
> See you at the end of the chapter!
> 
> -Pitch

PitchBlackWings  
Okay, um... let's just dive right in, shall we?

Favorite Food:  
I LOVE fettechine alfredo with shrimp, and sushi... But my all-time favorite food is ice cream from the local peach farm. The food there is the best you'll ever eat, and the ice cream is straight from heaven, made fresh every day. Just amazing. It's only open in the summer, though, because otherwise the food isn't ripe.... :(

Favorite Book Series (irl):  
ARGHHH so hard to choose! It's probably a tie between the Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland, which just came out with a new book, or the Dragonwatch/Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, which came out with its latest book last October.

Any Pets and their names and breeds:  
I have a beagle named Mingo. We named him after my dad's favorite Native American in a Daniel Boone show because he howled like an Indian. He's mostly black, with a white tummy and muzzle and some brown highlights. He is a bit chubbers as of recently so he's on a doggy diet. He loves food and pets.

Favorite Sport:  
CLIMBING hands down! I have set quite a few records on rock walls, and i like the ropes courses things they have at camps and stuff. Trees, rock walls, ropes, canoes bolted together on a wall as an extra climbing wall, whatever. I just love climbing.  
...Swimming is nice though, and so is Ultimate Frisbee...

Five Fun Facts About Yourself:

1.) I am an ambivert that kind of flips between being more introverted and more extroverted. When i'm with my fam or on my own, i can be pretty shy, but when i'm with my friends, i'm like the Energizer bunny on steroids with a sugar rush.

2.) I love drawing! I'm pretty good at it if i do say so myself. I'm not too good at Copic Ciao or Copic Sketch so far, but i'm great with pencil and pen. Not too bad with paints (watercolor and acrylic, not so much oil) either!  
My specialty is dragons. I suck at drawing humans

3.) I am a sugar lover. Any sugar, any time. Gimmie gimmie gimmie. Almost as addicted to it as i am to non-caffinated fraps. (I can't have caffiene bc then i am the Energizer Bunny on drugs lol)

4.) I can stitch/sew things relatively well. Useful for patching things up around the house!

5.) I'm homeschooled! #Lucky_and_I_know_it

Three Pet Peeves I Have:

1.) Overprotective parents. I know mah mom and dad mean well, but srsly, enough is enough sometimes!

2.) my lack of self-control when it comes to food. 80% of popcorn is eaten during the trailers, 20% left for the actual movie. I hate movie spoliers, too.

3.) PPL EATING WITH THEIR MOUTHS OPEN!!! Aaah the noise is so annoying to mee uuuugh im getting annoyed just thinking about it

Favorite Sans/your Sanspai:

ARGH so hard to choooose!! Nightmare (corrupted form) takes first place as my Sanspai. Fresh is probably second bc he is adorable and funny. I need to find a way to slip him into the story sometime or the other with his censoring and fresh POOFs!

Favorite Work you Made/edited/helped out on:

Honestly, i love them all. The one i would be most willing to read, though, irl, is A Living Nightmare (which will be referred to as ALN in the future). Action, angst, and karma, where you never really know whats going to happen next, even if you have a hunch! 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

X has ever so generously submitted some answers as well! Let's see what they have to say....

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
xXUndertale_LoverXx

Favorite Food: My favourite food is sushi! ^^ It's so delicious~

Favorite Book Series: My favourite book series is hard to determine. I love all books that I read. But if I really had to choose, it'd be the Ranger's Apprentice books by John Flanagan. I read them when I was a kid and they inspired me to start writing my own stories. ^^

Any Pets and their Names: I took in a stray cat a few years ago. His name is Peter and he's cute even if he's a little demon sometimes. He's got fluffy black fur and I love him. 

Favorite Sport: I really like climbing and parcour. 

Five fun facts about myself:

1) I have a very high pain tolerance.  
2) I am currently teaching myself Japanese.  
3) I react paradoxically to pretty much any sedative. That means that I get really aggressive and energetic.  
4) I like binge watching anime.  
5) I can eat anything without gaining weight. 

Three pet peeves: 

1) I hate touching absolutely anything inside subways.  
2) I don't like it when dogs bark at me. (They love doing it though)  
3) I can't stand errors in code. 

Favorite Sans/Sanspai: My favourite Sans is Fresh. He's so cuteee~

Favorite Work: My favourite work? All my works! I love them all equally ^^

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See yall next chapter,
> 
> -Pitch


	8. Found You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of hints last chapter about the outcome of the storyline so far :3...  
> How on Earth are the Star Sanses going to track down the Dark Sanses and find out what's really going on? And who is the leader of the Dark Sanses right now? What's going on here?  
> X helped with editing. Big shoutout to you my dude! Really appreciate the help.

Outer was walking through Outertale's Snowdin woods, patrolling to get rid of some pent-up energy. After the meeting with Ink, he was extremely on edge, especially after Ink and Dream's horror story about that Swaptale AU. The idea that the same thing could happen to his AU, to his brother... it was horrifying.

That was why he was patrolling. They needed information about the Dark Sanses and their movements, and any information at all was super valuable. And on the slim chance that they WERE in Outer's AU....

He shuddered. He certainly hoped they weren't...

Right now, Outer was busy following a group of footprints. They wouldn't be spectacular or worthy of interest, if not for one thing...

The prints were exactly the same as Outer's shoe soles. Same shoe, same size.

He tried to reason with himself that it wasn't anything big. Sure, it was probably a few alternatives of himself (four, to be exact), but that was nothing new, right? The other Sanses came here all the time to get away from the hustle and bustle of their own worlds. These prints probably belonged to some friendly, visiting Sanses.... right?

But Outer couldn't convince himself that these people were safe, especially after the meeting with Ink and Dream... so he followed them in the cover of the thickets, keeping his footprints light and covered, and being very careful not to make a lot of noise.

Eventually, Outer caught up to the other skeletons. There were indeed four of them, and they didn't seem very friendly. At all.  
Outer ran his eyelights over them.

One with tear marks over his sockets that looked like tar. They were surprisingly like those of Chara's.  
One with a hoodie and white specks that looked like dust on his shorts.  
One with a huge hole in his skull who was carrying an axe.  
One with a crazy black-and-white outfit that made him hard to make out in the snow. His clothes had lots of black X's all over them.

Outer stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening, stifling a scared whimper. Why him? Why his AU?

“Come on, hurry up!”

The skeleton with tarry tear marks running down his skull snapped at the others. They quickly fell into place and began walking a bit faster, albeit with some grumbling.

Outer trembled from his hiding spot, watching carefully. Information about the Dark Sanses was vital now that Nightmare was assumed dead, so he had to listen in, no matter how terrified he was. He began to follow them from a short distance in the safety of his hiding spot.

“What are we supposed to be doing here, anyway, Killer? We’ve caused enough negativity to last a week, even with Dream’s meddling,” The one with the hole in his skull growled sullenly.

Outer was terrible with names… he could barely remember anyone in the Dark Sanses other than Nightmare and the other one- Error, right? He’d have to remember how they looked.

“The usual,” The one in charge, ‘Killer’, said. “And if you want to complain, don’t talk to me, please. Talk to the boss, Horror.” He glared at Horror. “Oh, wait. Dust tried that, didn’t he? And look what it got him.”

Outer turned his eyelights to Dust and had to hold back a gasp. Dust’s skull had a spiderweb of cracks on the side of the bone, extinguishing the left eyelight. Black marrow residue outlined the cracks. Why would anyone do that to their subordinate…?

“….Alright,” Horror said grudgingly. “Let’s just finish our little ‘talk’ and get to destroying this world. Boss doesn’t want a ton of people opposing him when he gets here to finish up the AU.”

Outer put a hand to his mouth, eyes widening with a whimper as his eyelights flickered weakly. They were about to destroy his AU!

Cross, the one with all the X’s on all of his clothes, whipped his head towards the dense thicket where Outer was hiding.

“Killer. Someone’s listening in on us.”

Killer started and narrowed his eyes before he ran his eyelights over Outer’s hiding spot.

Outer froze and didn’t move, trembling slightly from fear.

“……Nah, Cross…" Killer said with a small smile. "Nobody’d DARE eavesdrop on OUR private conversations… not when they know the consequences would be severe….”

He turned away from the thicket with nary a second glance, waving his hand in a slow circle. Then he walked in the opposite direction. The others followed, Cross slipping off to the side at the last moment.

Outer relaxed with a relieved, yet quiet sigh. They hadn’t found him….

Outer slowly began to stand up. He needed to tell Ink and Dream before the Dark Sanses would destroy his AU. There really wasn’t a lot of time to waste being needlessly careful….

He started with a yelp when someone grabbed his shoulder, sharp phalanges scraping his arm as he was yanked fully upright. There was the familiar weightless tugging feeling of a teleport…

Outer tried desperately to pull away from his captor, Cross. He hadn't seen him sneak up behind him, the Dark Sans's outfit blending in with the white snow. Cross only grinned and tightened his grip, moving it to Outer's neck, fingertips making small cuts in the bone. Outer writhed for a few seconds before giving up- Cross was holding him so tightly he could barely breathe.

“Look what we got here, Killer!”

Outer froze. He was looking the Dark Sanses in the sockets right now…

Killer smirked, obviously the one in charge. “Well now. I hear that the Star Sanses have been buying out people to do their spying for them- is that right? It’s such dangerous work….”

He stepped forwards, capturing Outer’s Soul in a firm hold of Blue Magic. He tilted Outer’s chin upwards so that he would be forced to look at him.

“The reward must be _t o d i e f o r _……”__

____

__

Outer began to shake sporadically with panic. “L-let me go! I wasn’t doing anything!”

Dust snorted. “Sure. And I’m a Temmie.”

Cross relinquished his grip on Outer’s vertebrae, letting Killer keep him prisoner with blue magic. Horror moved into the terrified skeleton’s line of sight. He eyed him maliciously.

“Hey…. Do ya think the Boss would mind if I got dinner to go today?” He smirked, showing sharp teeth and a hungry expression.

Outer trembled. “T-this is my home! This is my AU! You can’t do this!”

Killer laughed. “Oh, that’s rich. Here you are, captured, at our MERCY, and you’re saying WE can’t do ‘this’?”

He glared at Outer. “How much did you hear?”

Outer tried to steel himself. “N-nothing! I just saw you come through here and hid so you wouldn’t kill me!”

Cross snickered. “Priceless.”

Horror fingered his axe. “As if we believe that.”

Killer snapped his fingers, and the blue magic dissipated. Outer tried desperately to teleport, but the residue from Killer’s magic was preventing any currents of necessary magic for the time being.

“We don’t need any witnesses,” Killer growled.

“But somehow I don’t think you heard much. And who knows… maybe a little example will be just what scum like you need to learn to stay out of our way.”

Outer shrunk back from his position on the ground, slowly getting up and backing away defensively. His legs were shaking.

“W-what kind of ‘example’?” He whispered. His eyes were wide in fear.

Killer began to walk away nonchalantly. “You’ll see. Dust, Cross and I will take care of the AU.”

The evil skeleton with tar marks on his eye sockets turned back, a smile on his sharp teeth.

“He’s all yours, Horror.”

Outer shrank back further, mere seconds from trying to bolt again. His eyelights had vanished completely, leaving two black, empty sockets, and he looked faint.

“N-n-no!" he shrieked, hoping that someone would hear him.

Horror stepped forwards, eyes glinting with malice.

“Horror, p-please!" Outer yelled, beginning to struggling desperately.

The skeleton with the jagged hole in his skull widened his smile further at Outer’s fear, insanity clearly showing. He fingered his axe.

“Hmmmm.... which should I do first…. Legs or arms?”

He chuckled in glee as Outer tripped, sprawling backwards. The skeleton backed away, horrified.

“Please, Horror, no!“ Outer begged, helpless.

Horror placed a foot on Outer’s chest, trapping his Soul with more Blue Magic, making escape impossible. He grinned manically, licking his unnaturally sharpened teeth.

“Horror y e s ~”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ink was busy doodling absentmindedly in the living room of the Star Sanses' base. Dream was sitting across from him, reading a book. The bright and usually positive Guardian was still furious at Ink for what he did to his brother.

Ink swapped out a colored pencil for a blue pen and began to color in his sketch when a portal opened in the middle of the floor. Both skeletons looked up, curious and a bit wary.

Dream gasped when the original Outer fell through the portal, the weak shortcut evaporating as soon as the skeleton hit the floor. Ink swore he could hear the crack of fractured bones, even with the small impact.

Dream ran forwards, channelling all the healing magic he had in him through his hands and into Outer. The latter's bones were completely mangled, the right arm and tibia completely missing. His clothes were soaked in blood and coated in dust, and fractures and breaks covered his entire body.

Ink was still a bit stunned, but after a few seconds he began to add his own healing magic to Dream's, speeding up Outer's recovery.  
After about ten minutes of this process, Outer stirred. Dream gasped in relief. The former would probably never run again, and he'd still have a lengthy recovery, but he would live.

Outer groaned and tried to sit up. Dream gently pushed him back onto the couch, where they had moved him after they had done a bit of healing.

"My AU! Papyrus! Snowdin! The axe- please no! Help-" Outer half gasped, half screamed, unaware of where he was.

"Sshhh! Outer, it's us, Ink and Dream," Dream said soothingly, holding Outer's bandaged hand. Outer's eyelights came into focus.

"What happened, Outer?" Ink asked softly. "You fell into my living room, half dead."

"Horror..." Outer said in a voice little more than a whisper.

"Horror did this to you?" Dream gasped in understanding.

Outer nodded slowly. "They caught me spying on them..."

Dream stared at Outer's missing arm and leg, anger roiling in his Soul.

"Wait," Ink said. "I'm confuzzled. Why were the Dark Sanses in your AU to begin with?"

Outer started as if remembering something.

"GAH, that's right! You have to help my AU! It's the Dark Sanses- they're gonna destroy it! You might be able to stop them!" he begged desperately.

"But that's an Original AU!" Ink protested.

"Well, they certainly didn't care one bit!" Outer said angrily. "They're destroying it as we speak!"

"When did they start?" Ink asked desperately.

"A few minutes before I collapsed and came here," Outer replied quickly, his tone panicked and high. "You have to help! I left my brother there!"

Dream dragged Ink to the middle of the living room hurriedly, forming a portal. "Come ON, Ink," he snapped. "Let's go! We might still be able to save it, it's only been about fifteen minutes!"

Ink nodded, quickly jumping through the portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big shoutout to xXUndertale_LoverXx, they helped me with the editing once again and let me post this way earlier than i should have been able to. Go check out their work, they are AWESOME writers and a big inspiration for me!
> 
> See you next update! If you liked, comment or kudos!  
> -Pitch


	9. Broken Truces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dark Sanses have crossed an unofficial truce line- they're destroying the Original Outertale AU, which means if they succeed, all the copies of Outertale will perish in the Void. Ink and Dream do not agree with that.  
> Also... THE BIG REVEAL! Who is Mystery!Boss, the leader of the Dark Sanses?  
> Find out today!  
> Alternative Title: "Who's In Charge"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK SO a little tidbit here.  
> It has been a few weeks since chapter 7 by now. Ink and Dream have pretty much been moping around at home this entire time. Now, we get a bit of explination about what happened while they were having drama at the S.S. base...
> 
> Huge thank-you to xXUndertale_LoverXx, without your editing i probably would not survive (-^-)b
> 
> Well.... here's the next chapter!  
> -Pitch

Ink and Dream fell out of the portal onto… actual grass. Not ashes like before.

Dream gasped in relief. “Ink! There’s still time! They haven’t destroyed everything like…. Like last time..!”

Ink nodded briskly, getting to his feet and looking around. “Now, if I was a Dark Sans trying to destroy a world, where would I start…?”

Dream dashed off towards the direction of Snowdin. “There’s smoke coming from this way, stupid!”

Ink ran after him, whipping his brush out to be ready for an ambush. “Wait for me!”

The smoke from Snowdin Town was black and sulfurous, making the two skeletons wary of their step. The grass and woodland slowly burned to ashes and cinders, making the path somewhat slick and impossible to navigate quietly.

Screams could be heard from the nearby buildings, agonizingly cut off with brutal efficiency. Dream winced. The negativity here was so strong it gave him a migraine.

“H-hurry!” Dream demanded, rushing into the town. Ink followed suit as quickly as possible.

The smoke was worse in the town, making the skeletons cough painfully. The snow was stained unnatural shades of black, white and red from the ashes, dust and blood of other Monsters. Ink shuddered. This was an Original AU! The Dark Sanses had never gone after one of them before…

The two Star Sanses rushed towards the middle of town, where Gaster Blasters could be heard firing beams of pure energy. Dream pulled out his bow, an arrow on the string ready to fire. Ink summoned acidic paint to rest on the tip of his brush, prepared for battle.

The Dark Sanses were quite busy in the center of town, it seemed. They looked quite ferocious, with blood, sulfur and dust soaked into their clothes and smeared on their bones. They were destroying Snowdin with brutal efficiency, Gaster Blasters and bone attacks flying across the town, demolishing buildings, plants and monsters with almost no effort whatsoever.

Dream stepped out into view, his clothing already covered in soot. “HEY!!”

The Dark Sanses paused, turning almost simultaneously to glare at the Guardian of Positivity. Ink stepped next to Dream, his paintbrush raised defensively.

“Oh, look. It’s the forever-happy idiot and his rainbow friend,” Killer growled lowly.

The other Dark Sanses stepped in a semi-circle around Ink and Dream, leaving them with a few more targets than if they had stuck together.

“What do you want, Ink Spill?”

“Stop destroying this AU!” Ink said firmly, adjusting his grip on Broomie threateningly.

The Dark Sanses had varying degrees of scorn and amusement on their faces.

Killer began to circle the Star Sanses, the other Dark Sanses following his lead. "No can do, Inky. Boss's orders were to destroy it, and that's what we're doing."

Ink was having a bit of trouble following all the skeletons circling around him and Dream. Killer and Dust were going clockwise, Horror and Cross counterclockwise, so it was hard to keep track of all of them.

"But if you destroy this AU, all the copies of it will die, too! That's hundreds of AUs!" Dream tried to reason.

Cross rolled his eyes. "Well, duh. That's the point."

Ink leapt out suddenly, swinging his paintbrush aggressively at Cross and Horror. Dream took a cue from him and began to shoot arrows rapidly at Killer and Dust.

Cross barely dodged the sweeping paintbrush, jumping back and summoning a huge, glowing knife to fight with. He glared at Ink.

Horror swung his axe at Ink while he was bringing up his brush to launch acidic paint at Cross.

Ink spun around, barely blocking the axe with his brush handle, pushing Horror away with a thrust of his weapon and launching acidic paint spatters at the two.

Horror dodged, along with Cross. The two threw bone attacks at Ink for retaliation, who swept them out of the air with his paintbrush before jumping out of the way of a jointed Gaster Blaster beam.

The God of Creativity growled frustratedly. This could go on for a while...

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dream was shooting arrows nonstop at Killer and Dust, but Killer was negating them by forming bone attacks and launching them to counteract the glowing projectiles. Dream was circling the two slowly, occasionally dodging a bone spear that got too close.

Killer waved his hand in a triangle formation behind his back, so that only Dust could see it. He launched a constant barrage of bones at Dream, but the chance of him getting in a lucky shot was very slim.

Dust stared at the signal for a second, then nodded discreetly, reaching a hand into his hoodie for a secret compartment.

Dust threw a few knives at Dream suddenly, the sharp metal glinting in the fires the Dark Sanses had created in the town. They stood out, bright and silver, amongst the magical red bones Killer was consistently forming and launching at Dream.

Dream jumped back, fumbling slightly with his bow. He spun out of the way of the knives quickly, not eager to become a boney shish kebab any time soon.

Killer leapt forwards as soon as Dream made a move, lashing out with a formed bone attack and knocking the other back.

Dream blocked most of the sharp attack from Killer with his bow, but stumbled back from the impact. He recovered quickly, but landed on his left foot awkwardly. He winced as he turned back to face Killer and Dust.

Killer smirked. His plan had worked!

He ran forwards to press his advantage, using a long bone attack as a leathal sword as he swung it viciously at Dream.

Dream swore under his breath as he transformed his bow into a sword, parrying Killer's blows expertly and simultaneously dodging Dust's thrown knives and bone attacks. His ankle really hurt....

Dream cheered internally when he struck Killer on the skull with a resounding CRACK, feeling the whiplash from the blow hit his hand painfully.

Killer stumbled back, dazed. He put a hand to his skull, feeling the fractures with a pained grimace. How dare that happy-go-lucky idiot--!

Dust snarled angrily and threw his knives in a frenzy at Dream, making the Guardian step back to avoid getting impaled with the shining silver blades.

Killer grunted appreciatively, retreating with a few Gaster Blaster beams to obscure himself from view.

Dust followed, hesitant to launch any new attacks with Killer injured.

"Why are you doing this?!" Dream demanded angrily. "The last few weeks you've been destroying AUs like crazy, and now you're going after an Original?! Do you even know how many people would die if you suceeded, or are you just sick?!"

"Of course we know," Killer growled, pained. Dust was subtly healing him, but it wasn't doing much good. None of the Dark Sanses were that good at healing magic. "That's pretty much the point. Boss said-"

"SSSHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Dust hissed angrily at Killer, eyelight flashing with a furious anxiety. "Shut it! We're not supposed to talk about him! You know what happens when..." He trailed off with a scowl.

Killer's eyelights blinked out momentairily. He dipped his head slightly. "Alright," he said with a snarl. "Alright. But we'd better hurry and finish before he comes, you know."

Dust nodded grimly and turned back to face Dream.

Dream's mind was whirling. What were they talking about?

Confusion gave way to anger as he realized that the Dark Sanses were doing this on purpose. They wanted to kill hundreds of millions of Monsters! For no reason!! Nightmare wasn't around anymore, there was no need to spread any more negativity!

He charged Dust and Killer suddenly, whirling his staff with a ferocious look on his face. He finally had an output for all that anger he had been storing up over his brother's death...

The two Dark Sanses readied themselves, forming a few bone attacks and a Gaster Blaster, crouching into defensive positions, a bit shocked at Dream's fury. This battle was going to take a while...

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Ink swiped his brush at Horror, acidic paint spattering onto his left leg even as the Dark Sans blocked the brunt of the paintbrush's force with his axe.

Horror winced, regaining his balance, swinging his axe up to knock Ink back. He was starting to get tired- Cross was, too. They couldn't keep this up for much longer...

He slowly stepped backwards, looking around for possible venues of escape. His eyelights roamed the nearby landscape, flicking from buildings to snow to hills. His gaze stopped, resting on a shaded snow-covered hill. He focused on the most heavily obscured part of the hill, narrowing his eyelights to see it more clearly.

Horror's eyelights shrank completely, dissapearing from view. He stepped backwards, his leg wobbling slightly under the pressure. He didn't notice the pain that shot through his tibia.

Cross looked up at Horror's reaction, cringing further away from Ink, completely distracted as his eyelights probed the shadows. "Argh... we were supposed to have more time..."

Ink looked that way as well, worried for a threat big enough to scare the two Dark Sanses. All he could see was a shadowy figure on top of one of the large hills surrounding Snowdin...

He frowned. Who was that? Anyone who had any brain whatsoever had fled by now...

The shadow on the hill stepped forwards slowly, purposely. One glowing pinprick showing the light of a Sans using his magic. He was still heavily obscured from veiw, the shadows preventing his identity from being revealed. All anyone could see was his silhouette.

"I thought you'd be done by now. Pathetic."

The voice was deep, smooth and threatening... and hauntingly familiar. Dream's eyelights shrunk slightly, his mind racing. Ink stepped back from Horror and Cross cautiously, eyeing the new figure.

The Dark Sanses had varying expressions of nervousness, fear and relief.

"I-I swear, Boss, we would've been done, but..." Killer gestured groggily at the two Star Sanses, still on their guard and with minimal damage for the most part.

The Sans scoffed. "I should have known. If you want a job done right, do it yourself."

Ink shifted his grip on Broomie and began to slowly stalk towards the new figure.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The single eyelight widened slightly before narrowing in amusement.

"Aww. Don't you remember me?" the Sans replied, his voice cold and emotionless. "That's a shame. Especially after everything you did to me, Inky."

Dream took a step back, converting his staff to a bow. There was something fluttering around in the back of his mind. The voice was so familiar. Why couldn't he...?

"Don't test me!" Ink snapped. "Who. Are. You?"

"Well, it'd thought it'd be obvious," the Sans said, eyelight narrowing further.

He stepped forwards, slowly, purposely into the light, the one cyan eyelight glinting with malice.

Dream's jaw dropped, almost unhinging.

Ink faltered, his eyelights disappearing.

Four thick tendrils arced over the skeleton's head, sharp and deadly. There was only one glowing eyelight on his skull... and only one socket. The other was obscured by a thick ooze- the same substance dripping slowly from the tendrils.

"I'm your _worst Nightmare. _"__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter i asked if y'all had any theories about who the Mystery!Boss might be. The prize was a shoutout this chapter...  
> Now, nobody got it entirely right, but someone was SUPER, SUPER close....  
> SkylerSkyhigh was the winner with her theory of a corrupted Nightmare! (go see the conversation on Chapter 8 in the comments if you want to see the entire talk and theory, including my opinion on what defines a "corrupted" character.) Go check out their works. Seriously, they are AWESOME.
> 
> Don't be afraid to comment or kudos, i don't bite! (most of the time) ;3  
> See you next chapter!
> 
> -Pitch


	10. Ruthless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shipley's Doughnuts, Nightmare is _back _, my dudes...__  
>  FIGHT!! FIGHT!! FIGHT!!! FIGHT!!!! FIGHT!!!!!
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - editing  
> PitchBlackWings - chapter writing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, i left you all on the most evil cliffhanger yet last chapter. Sorry 'bout that...  
> My Recipe:  
> Mix two angry Star Sanses, four angry Dark Sanses, and one angry Nightmare in a large bowl. Add a teaspoon of potential angst and a tablespoon of violence. Store at room temperature.  
> ... i tried to add a little bit of extra violence for seasoning but i ended up pouring the entire container into the bowl. Oops....  
> (andikindoflostthecontaineroffluffineededforthisstorybutiwillfinditlateriswear) 
> 
> Alternative Chapter Title:  
> FIGHT! FIGHT!! FIGHT!!!
> 
> And by the way... 22+ subscriptions, 16 bookmarks, 101 kudos and 731 hits?! **LIKE HOW EVEN**  
>  Whew i never thought this thing would come so far, especially not in the first few months! Thank you guys so much aaaaahh
> 
> See you at the end of the chapter!  
> -Pitch

Dream stared at the figure on top of the hill.  
That was impossible.  
He was dead.

His brother was dead.

Nightmare was _dead_...

...So how was he here??

The Dark Sanses recovered first, not being shocked in the first place. They teleported to the bottom of the hill Nightmare was standing on, weary and filled with trepidation.

"You're... you're supposed to be gone," Ink growled furiously. "You're dead. I killed you!"

"Obviously not." Nightmare slid down the hill, leaving two grooves from his slippers as he stared at the two Star Sanses.

Dream shivered under his brother's cold, unfeeling stare. "How are you alive?" he whispered, feeling nervous and uncomfortable. He was unused to his brother's aura by now, and the chilling effect was unnerving him.

Nightmare glanced at him. "Who cares?"  
He reared his tentacles, sharpening them to points or harpoonlike spears.

"Horror, Killer, Cross, Dust, you take Ink. Surely the four of you imbeciles together can do that. I'll take the other one."

Ink really didn't have much time to think before the Dark Sanses charged him, bone attacks slicing through the air, knives, swords, Blaster beams, and the occasional axe flying everywhere. He was acting entirely on relflex, dodging, swiping, and firing spatters of paint every opportunity he had.

How was Nightmare still alive?! What happened?? Sci had promised him it would work.... Sci wouldn't betray him, would he?

A bone nicked his forearm, bringing him back to the present with a painful jolt just in time to dodge Cross's gigantic knife. He'd worry about that later, once he wasn't in danger anymore.

Dream jumped back when Nightmare lunged at him, twirling his staff to fend off his sharp tentacles. He used it to whack off a few that came too close to their target for comfort, transforming his staff into a bow as he leapt back. He shot several arrows into Nightmare's goopy form.

Nightmare, unfazed, lashed out again with two thick tendrils, grabbing onto Dream's bow and twisting it viciously.

Dream refused to let go, and was slammed into the ground by the force of Nightmare's pull, wincing as he heard several cracks. That had hurt....

Nightmare yanked the bow out of Dream's arms, tossing it far away to the side. A few smaller tentacles pulled out the arrows Dream had shot into him, the ooze slowly refilling the holes they had left.

Dream's eyelights widened as Nightmare advanced, rearing a huge tentacle. He slammed it into Dream, tossing him across the snow- and ash-covered ground.

Dream gasped for breath, winded. He choked when Nightmare was suddenly there, placing a foot onto his ribs and looking down at him. His lack of emotion was odd, but Dream really couldn't think about that right now. he could barely breathe...

"Who did this to me?"

Dream choked slightly as Nightmare added a bit of extra pressure to his chest as he spoke, his voice cool and collected.

"I-Ink! He threw the p-potion, you saw him! It wasn't me! I-I would never want to do something- something like that!" Dream wheezed, trying to shove Nightmare's foot off of his chest.

Nightmare tsked. "I know that. But who _made_ the potion?"  
He added yet more force onto Dream's ribs, narrowing his eyes in seemingly sadistic satisfaction at the cracking sound they made.

Dream gasped in pain, trying desperately to focus. "N-Nightmare! Please s-stop this! You're not evil, i know you aren't!"

Dream was suddenly able to breathe again as his brother's foot lifted off his chest. He gasped for breath desperately.

"You don't know anything about me."  
The foot was replaced by a crushing force as a tentacle wrapped itself around his waist, squeezing him for a second before throwing him across the ground again, slamming him into a gravelly patch.

Before he could recover, another tendril snaked around his neck, lifting him up from his prone position to where he could look into Nightmare's single blue eye.

"I won't ask again," he said quietly. His tone added to the sense of menace and threat. **"Who made the potion?"**  
His tentacle tightened, cutting off Dream's magic/air supply. He wasn't bluffing.

Dreamm choked, desperate for air.  
"S-Sci!" he gasped, black lights swimming in his vision.

Nightmare frowned slightly. "Hmm."

He swung his tentacle, throwing Dream across the clearing and slamming him into a tree like a rag doll. A loud succession of cracks rang out as Dream slumped to the floor.

Dream winced. His leg was broken, his arm and skull had multiple fractures, and some of his ribs were almost cracked off.

He desperately engaged his healing magic, trying to get up and defend himself.

Nightmare snorted as he watched Dream's struggles, teleporting behind him in a puddle of ooze. He drew back a tentacle and slammed it into his brother's torso, launching him across the clearing yet again.

Dream skidded across the ground, marrow, dust and shards of bone in his wake. He trembled with the strength of the blow, struggling to even get his arms under him. He didn't remember Nightmare ever being this strong, even in a completely destroyed and negative AU.

How was he so powerful now??

Nightmare didn't even bother teleporting, he simply shot several Gaster Blasters from a distance at Dream, one hand raised as the energy beams erupted from the Blaster's mouths.

Dream rolled out of the way as quickly as possible, beating down the urge to scream as his bones erupted in spasms of shooting pain.

He slowly got on his feet, resummoning his bow and shooting more arrows at Nightmare. He would have to weaken him so he could reason with him...

Nightmare dodged the arrows easily, he was a Sans after all, no matter how... distorted... he was.  
He shot shards of corruption at Dream in a mostly constant barrage, only occasionally stopping to dodge.

Dream was getting tired, constantly having to jump out of the way of the black shadow-like shards that Nightmare was launching at him from his own corruption. His adrenaline rush was wearing down, and he felt like he could barely move another step. Every motion he made had the sickening sound of dripping marrow, gritty dust, or bone grinding against bone. His HP was almost critically low by now, he was sure of it...

Nightmare began to tire of playing with Dream. Sure, it might have a slight satisfaction, watching him scurry about like some sort of injured forest creature, but what was the point? He wouldn't get anything out of it anyway.  
He teleported behind Dream, grabbing his bow with one tentacle and wrapping another thick tendril around his chest, shoulders, and neck, pinning his arms to his sides.

Dream had no time to react as he was hoisted into the air, a cold, slimy thing snaking around his middle and neck.

And then it _squeezed._

Dream gasped for breath that wouldn't enter his lungs(?), feeling, hearing his ribs crack further. His vision began to swim with black spots...

Nightmare frowned. Almost out for the count already? How fragile was his brother? And if he was this easy to defeat, why hadn't he just gotten rid of him earlier?  
He couldn't remember....

Eh. It didn't really matter.

Dream slumped in Nightmare's grip, unconcious, his HP dropping by the second.  
At the last possible moment, Nightmare relaxed his tentacle, letting Dream breathe. He wasn't waking up anytime soon. Mission accomplished.

He opened a tar-colored portal and threw Dream inside. He'd deal with his annoyance of a sibling later.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ink looked up, panting. The Dark Sanses were at an impasse with him, neither one wanting to get closer to the other to attack. He looked at his opponents with grim satisfaction as he saw bruises, acid burns and cuts that he had inflicted. He would win this, he was sure of it...

"Hey!"

All five heads turned sharply to the source of the voice.  
Nightmare was there, jacket and shorts stained with marrow and covered in white dust.

Ink's eyelights vanished at the implications, colorful shapes blinking out of existence.

"Hurry up and finish your jobs. I'll take care of the other one."

The Dark Sanses nodded and teleported off, eager to leave the fighting to their Boss.

Ink charged Nightmare furiously, paintbrush raised, acidic paint ready at the tip. Dream would never just up and vanish on him like that, leaving him to face the wrath of both Nightmare and his gang alone. Nightmare must have done something to him. His Soul flinched with panic when he thought about what might have happened to Dream. So much marrow was staining Nightmare's clothes and goopy tentacles.... did skeletons even have that much marrow when they were _alive_...??

Ink refused to accept that thought. Get out of his head RIGHT NOW.  
Dream was okay. He had to be!

"GIVE HIM BACK!!" he roared angrily, face red.

Nightmare dodged it easily, slipping through his defenses. "Not a snowball's chance in hell."

Ink whirled around, launching paint at Nightmare from his brush as he spun.

Nightmare ducked and shot projectiles made of his own corruption at the splotches of paint, canceling them out in midair. Black ooze mixed with rainbow paints on the white snow below.

Ink ran at Nightmare as the other charged at him simultaneously, his paintbrush ready. He swung it at the Guardian of Negativity, covering his left shoulder in a huge swathe of paint.

Nightmare spun around to face Ink, shoulder melting from the paint. Ink felt no small sense of satisfaction as he looked at what he had done to the other. That must have been very painful...

Ink stepped back slowly as he realized that Nightmare didn't look like he was in pain. Like... at all. His shoulder was already slowly beginning to re-form, the acid's corroding effects having worn off.

"What under Earth are you?!" Ink demanded, his voice octaves braver than he actually felt.

Nightmare chuckled slowly, no mirth in the laugh. "I'm me, Inky. And I'm fed up with you."

He charged Ink suddenly, his speed surprising him. All of Ink's focus went to blocking his tendrils with his brush.

"You know, if it was this easy to get rid of you, I don't know why i didn't do it before," Nightmare remarked, one of his tentacles stabbing Ink's shoulderblade and imbedding itself inside. With a sudden wrenching motion, he threw Ink aside as he had done with Dream, tossing him across the ground.

Ink groaned as he used his paintbrush to help himself get back up, watching his opponent warily. Since when had Nightmare packed such a punch?

Nightmare retained his distance, tentacles waving slowly from his back. He had stalled long enough. "I think you've overstayed your welcome."

Ink snarled. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what you did to Dream! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!"

Nightmare shrugged, the smallest, fleeting glimpse of a smirk on his face. "Nothing much yet. But you know..."  
He teleported to the shadows behind Ink, out of range of his brush, yet unsettlingly close.

"It'd be a hot shame if I took out some frustration on my _dear_ brother, now, wouldn't it?"

Ink froze, his hands trembling slightly. This was not good... Nightmare had the power as long as he had the hostage here...

"So, Inky, I'll give you the chance to be a good boy. Leave, and I won't have to hurt Dream. Much."  
He didn't want the extra bother of the Creator trying to save the AU or stab him in the back eventually. And anyway, Nightmare wasn't beneath breaking a promise. It wouldn't be the worst thing he'd done against moral code...

Nightmare began to turn away, confident that Ink would do as he ordered.

"NO!"

Nightmare paused.  
"What was that, Inky?"

Ink squared his shoulders, a fierce expression on his face.  
"I WON'T let you destroy this AU! It's an Original! Dream himself would agree that I need to save it! He would say his life would be less important than those of the thousands of Monsters and people!"

Nightmare was silent for a few seconds. The quiet became almost suffocating.  
Then... he shrugged.  
"I'm not going to destroy this AU. I need it."

Ink blinked slowly. "What are you going to do, then?" he growled out. He didn't trust Nightmare in the slightest.

"None of your concern. Now, unless you're interested in seeing exactly what I could do to Dream, I suggest you take your leave. Maybe some of my corruption injected into his SOUL would have the same effect on him as it did on me?"  
This was a blatant lie. Dream wouldn't be affected like his brother, but he would get very sick and it would be extremely painful. Nightmare just wanted Ink out of the equation. Too many moving parts with an immortal God getting under his metaphorical skin. He had stalled for enough time for his boys, and it was time to get to work. Besides, he could always kill off the AU later. He didn't need to now, but he probably would sometime later. Less witnesses that way. .... and somehow, some part of him didn't want to lie to Ink. _What am I thinking? He's the creator, for star's sakes. I shouldn't care whether he lives or dies!_

Ink stood still for a full minute, sockets devoid of eyelights, and then pulled out his paintbrush, creating a portal to a random AU. He couldn't deal with Dream becoming corrupted. There was no way... as long as Nightmare had the hostage, he had the power here.  
And besides... he couldn't fight Dream if he became corrupted. He just... couldn't. "You had better keep your word."

Nightmare snorted, not giving this obviously weightless threat the dignity of a response. He had lied through his teeth plenty of times. It was not like Ink could do anything about it... Regardless, his shoulders and tentacles relaxed slightly when Ink stepped through the portal and it warped shut behind him. One less loose end to deal with.

He teleported to the RUINS, where his gang was waiting for him.  
...They had better be done by now.

\------------------------------------

Killer was holding the Outertale Frisk's SOUL inside its case with sweaty phalanges when Nightmare suddenly appeared. Killer and the others jumped, startled.

"I trust you have finished what we came here to do?"

Killer nodded quickly.  
"We got the SOUL, Boss. And the others." he gestured to the other six SOULs inside their respective containers. He was actually quite curious about what Nightmare even wanted them for...

Nightmare nodded, sated for the moment. "Good."  
He opened a portal to the hideout. No need for secrecy when there was noone to see. "Take them inside and put them outside my office."

The others nodded, grabbing two SOULS each, stacking the containers on top of one another as they walked through the portal back to the base.

Killer, who was still carrying only the one SOUL container, hesitated.  
"Uh... Boss?"

Nightmare turned his single eye to glare down at Killer. He didn't respond.

Killer refused to be cowed this time. He needed to know. "What did you do to Ink and Dream?"

Nightmare paused, the corner of his mouth curving down slightly. He raised his tentacles slowly, sharpening their points.  
"Didn't Dust's example do _anything_?"

He stabbed one tentacle down towards Killer's Soul, sharpened and deadly.

Killer winced, flinching away, head turned. He had made a mistake...

The tendril stopped, hovering over Killer's ribcage, right over where his SOUL would be. Killer slowly looked away from the pointed weapon, turning his currently nonexistent eyelights up to Nightmare's face. He expected him to be absolutely livid.

But he wasn't. He wasn't... anything, actually. Just a cool indifference taking over his entire expression.  
"You are _not_ to question any of my orders, and you are _not_ to question my motives, _subordinate._ **Understood?** "

Killer was silent. He had never heard that tone from Nightmare before. It was... terrifying. Cold, cruel, and unfeeling. What had happened to the father figure he had come to look up to and admire?

 **"I said, understood?"**  
The tone was now accompanied by a slight jab to Killer's ribcage, cutting the bone and coming dangerously close to piercing his Soul.

Killer winced, not daring to back away for fear the razor-sharp appendage would cause more damage.

"U...understood..." he managed to rasp out, his voice barely a whisper.

Nightmare retracted his tentacle, a thin trail of dust and marrow leaking from the narrow wound. It wasn't serious, but it would leave a very visible scar.

"Good." The dark Guardian backed away, walking through the portal he had created with no sign of the threat he had just leveled on his gang member. "Hurry up and bring the Soul to my office. I don't have time to be wasted by the likes of you."

Killer nodded shakily and stepped through the portal, careful to hold the Soul so it wouldn't fall out of his grip. The portal dissapeared behind him as Nightmare teleported away to somewhere else inside the base, leaving no evidence that it had ever existed.

Killer looked to the place that the portal had been before walking towards Nightmare's office.

Why did he feel like he was trapped here?  
Home had always had this sense of underlying security that never wavered. Home base was the one place that Killer had ever felt truly relaxed and safe in. Except Nightmare. The caring, gentle father figure in Killer's life came very close to giving him that same feeling.

But now...  
Killer placed the Soul container down just inside Nightmare's office, trailing his fingers across his wound with a slight wince. That was going to leave a scar.  
Memories flashed through the dark skeleton Monster's head of the countless times Nightmare had treated his wounds, bandaged his scars. Of the protective fury in his boss's eyes when he saw him hurt.

And memories of Dust's skull. And now Killer's rib. Both cracked and scarred...

_Nightmare... what did they do to you?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dream: OMG OMG OMG Nightmare UR ALIVE BUT HOW WHY  
> Nightmare: Meh *immediately almost beats him to death*  
> Ink: See this is why we can't have nice things  
> Nightmare: Talk to the tentacle, squid for brains.
> 
> I was both pleasantly surprised and somewhat confuzzled when some people didn't get the hint i dropped last chapter that Nightmare was Mystery!Boss all along. But then i reread it and it actually wasn't as obvious as i'd thought it was, and the italic made the capitalization's meaning kind of hard to see... oopsies! ^^'
> 
> I would LOVE to hear your theories! There are some hints in the comments in previous chapters where people posted theories and ideas...  
> SPEAKING OF WHICH i love theory comments (any comments really but these especially)! They make me really think about what i have planned for the book lore. If you call me out on a future plot point or event, you get a shoutout! *le gasp~* prizes and incentive!  
> FOR THIS WEEK'S SHOUTOUT...  
> Goats_Trophy and Anonymous Guest in the comments of last chapter got a main plot point correct! *showers them with cookies and fluffer blankets with kittens on them* have a shoutout, guyz!  
> 
> 
> And as previously stated, xXUndertale_LoverXx helped with editing. I could not survive without them.  
> They are also a really good author. Go check out their works!
> 
> ...I think that's all the rambling stuff i have to say this chapter... see you next time i post one!
> 
> -Pitch
> 
> P.S. a bit of an embarrasing confession to make. I just. and i mean JUST found out how to use the **strong** commands.  
> XD im usually very techy so that was kind of a facepalm moment for me... does anyone else hv that embarrasing habit of never asking anyone anything about a certain site or electronic and trying to figure everything out? (and then like months later you're STILL finding new things and you're like WHY DIDN'T I SEE THIS SOONER AAAAAAHHH) ^w^'


	11. Help Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welp.  
> Ink has MESSED UP.  
> How is he dealing with all this?  
> A chapter featuring your favorite idiot!
> 
> XXUndertale_LoverXx - professional encourager, editor  
> PitchBlackWings - chapter writer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Chapter Title:  
> Karma Finally Starts Doing her Job.
> 
> Whew. Okay so i started writing this chapter and like three minutes into it i realized that i was writing the lyrics to the song i was listening to and not the actual plot. Oops... ^w^'
> 
> Finally a chapter with no fight scenes taking place actively! It's been what, like, three chapters straight with some form of physical violence?
> 
> Also a very very very very very tiny bit of fluff! *le gasp~* i finally found the container!
> 
> So um i guess i'll see yall at the end of the chapter! Have fun!  
> -Pitch

Ink was crying.

He had collapsed in the Doodle Sphere after escaping Nightmare, not even bothering to tend to his wounds.

At first, he had felt... numb. Nothing. He was still processing everything that had changed over the last fifteen minutes.  
Could he go back to being numb again?

Because feeling _hurt._

It hurt like a freaking _semi_ when he finally realized what had happened. His Soul hurt so badly he fell to his knees.

He hadn't killed Nightmare after all.

The Guardian of Negativity's power had at least doubled.

And Dream was gone.

Dream...

Ink curled up into a tiny ball on the carpet, sobbing harshly as he clutched his paintbrush. His chest ached, his bones hurt... everything hurt...

_Stupid_  
_Worthless_  
_Can't do anything right_  
_Idiot_  
_Can't save anyone_  
_Weak_  
_Nobody could ever love me_  
_Don't deserve love_  
_A failure_

_____ _

Ink curled up tighter as his mind relived every moment of the battle with Nightmare and his gang.  
_I shouldn't have let Dream fight on his own. I should have protected him and stopped being so focused on only my own fight. I should have saved him. I should have done s o m e t h i n g...._

He closed his eyes as the vivid images flashed faster and faster through his eyesockets. The marrow and dust on Nightmare's tentacles...  
He retched heavily, coughing up black, viscous ink tinged with streams of red marrow. Ink curled in on himself tighter with a choked cry.

Why?  
WhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhyWHY?!  
Dream didn't do anything! It was him! Dream didn't deserve to be somewhere with no sun and no light and no food or friends or comfort or... or torture machines... or with Nightmare... with someone who would kill him in the blink of an eyelight...!

Ink let out a wordless scream of despair, his vision fading in blinks and splotches of black.

_a failure..._

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Blueberry walked in through the front door of the Doodle Sphere base.  
"HELLO, FELLOW STAR SANSES! THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY IS BACK!"

He pasused as nobody answered him.  
"HMM. IS ANYONE HOME?"

He walked through the entryway and into the kitchen. He frowned.  
The lights were all on... maybe someone was home, but sleeping? He groaned. It was probably Ink, then. The sometimes forgetful Creator left lights on often.

"INK! ARE YOU HERE?"

Blueberry walked through the kitchen and strode towards the living room. If Ink wasn't in there, he was probably asleep, and Blueberry wouldn't bother him until he woke up.

"HEY INK, I THOUGHT- OH STARS!!"  
Blueberry rushed to Ink's side. the colorful Creator was curled up in a tiny ball around his paintbrush, various injuries dripping marrow and dust all over the carpet.  
Blueberry worriedly CHECKed him before doing anything.

Ink!Sans

HP: .89/1000  
DEF: 1/750 (unconscious, weak)  
ATK: 0.09/4763 (see above)  
LV: 2  
EXP: 2

·Is heavily injured.  
·The God of Creation.

[I failed. I'm a failure...]

Blueberry gasped and immediately placed his hands on Ink's bones, channeling every ounce of heaing magic he had into his friend. What happened? What went wrong?? Who did this?!

"HOLD, ON, INKY!! OH, STARS..."

After a good ten minutes of channeling healing magic into Ink, Blueberry was exhausted. Ink had stopped bleeding quite so much, but his injuries were too extensive for him to do much with his one HP. He wasn't well versed in healing magic... if Ink's HP kept declining, he might actually Fall Down...  
_NO. Don't think like that. There has to be something else I can do to help him! I can't let Ink die! I can't-_ With a burst of energy and inspiration he didn't think he had, the small skeleton ran to the bathroom down the hall, yanking open the cabinet doors under the sink and crouching down to peer inside. He swept several bones to the side before grabbing a rather large black zip-up bag with a red cross displayed on the front. It was box-shaped and rather bulky. He also grabbed a large white towel as he spotted it hanging up in the bathroom. He dashed back to the living room, unzipping the bag hurriedly as he ran.

He knelt down next to the skeleton still curled up on the floor, opening the bag fully and snatching out different sized bandages, tiger balm, and a jar of green healing gel. He dipped the tips of his phalanges into the jar, scooping out a generous handful of the geletainous substance. Blueberry then began to slather Ink's injuries with the cooling gel on his fingers, making sure to apply tiger balm afterwards to ease the pain. He worked meticulously, losing track of time entirely. There were too many scratches, bruises, gashes and cuts to count on Ink's bones...

Ink flinched subconciously away from him at first, even whilst unconcious, but soon enough the gel began to work its literal magic and he began to relax, although his expression was still worrying. One of pain and... regret?  
Blueberry hummed throughtfully as he finished using the healing gel and began to bandage the wounds while they began to knit back together, using the towel to make sure that no more dust and marrow got onto the previously-clean carpet. He'd have to ask what happened once Ink woke up...

A few minutes later, once he had finished binding Ink's wounds, Blueberry zipped up the bag and placed it back inside the bathroom cabinet, returning to the living room to stare at Ink.  
"WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH YOU?" he groaned.

He couldn't leave Ink all alone like this. The Creator had a bad habit of overestimating himself when injured and reopening old and healing wounds. Heck, Blueberry couldn't trust Ink to stay in bed for half a minute whenever he got sick! Leaving was out of the question.  
Blueberry sighed. It looked like he was on babysitting duty again until Ink felt better.

He knelt down next to Ink and slipped his arms underneath his friend's torso and legs. He picked him up, bridal-style, and wobbled a bit before he regained his balance and began to walk towards his friend's room.

"mmph..." Ink curled up around his paintbrush even tighter, making it more difficult for Blueberry to hold onto him. The other skeleton hadn't let go of his brush throughout the entire ordeal.

"YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T MAKING THIS ANY EASIER FOR ME!" Blueberry complained, trying to nudge the door to Ink's room open with his foot.

"mmph." Ink proceeded to curl up even tighter than before.

"...YOU DON'T CARE, DO YOU."  
"mmphhh." Ink was now a completely ball-shaped object with the tip of his paintbrush sticking out of the side.  
"HRMPH. STUPID LAZYBONES. YOU'RE A NUISANCE EVEN WHENN YOU'RE ASLEEP!" there was no real bite to his words, however.

Blueberry finally got the door open and set the ball-Ink down on top of his bed, pulling the covers up to his friend's shoulders. He then pulled the chair from Ink's desk over to the bed's side and sat down, staring worriedly at his fellow Star Sans.

As much as he wanted to sit down and stay with his friend, if any more marrow dried on the carpet they might as well dye the entirety of the carpet red to make it look somewhat presentable. He sighed and got up, walking to the kitchen to grab some bleach, wipes, an old rag and some gloves before getting to work.

The stains DIDN'T WANT TO COME OUT.  
Blueberry scrubbed and scrubbed and SCRUBBED and the stupid thing still stayed stubbornly on the floor.  
Fifteen minutes of fruitless elbow grease later, clean Blueberry with a clean rag, a full bottle of bleach, blue gloves, and a stained carpet, turned into completely dirty and exhausted Blueberry with a bloodred rag, barely a quarter of a bottle of bleach, and splotchy red gloves. He thought he might throw up if he spent ONE MORE MINUTE breathing in the smell of bleach and marrow...

"NYEH! I GIVE UP! THIS CARPET STAIN IS IMPOSSIBLE!" he groaned angrily, tossing his hands towards the sky before huffily grabbing the bleach and rag that lay dejectedly on the floor.  
The carpet stain seemed to be... smirking. At him. The Magnificent Blueberry...

"NYEEEEEEEEEEEEEHH!!!" Blueberry screeched, storming out of the room to put away the cleaning supplies. That stain would pay for this at a later date!

... but now, he had more pressing matters to deal with than a sarcastic splotch on the floor.

A few minutes later, Blueberry was back at Ink's bedside again, worried for him.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, INK?"  
He hadn't wanted to wake up the other skeleton, however, so he decided to simply read a book with only the dim lamp on inside the room. He couldn't focus very well, however, and it wasn't just the lack of light in the surrounding space..

Ink had never come home this beaten, and his CHECK had shown that his stats were the most worrying he'd seen in almost... forever, actually. Had the Creator finally picked a fight he just couldn't win? Had he left his injuries to fester and worsen without taking any notice of them before it was too late? Most of his wounds were that of some sort of javelin or spearlike weapon, with some arrow-ish wounds, knife wounds and bone attack remnants scattered inconsistently along his body. He had obviously lost one heck of a fight...  
Blueberry was determined to stay here with his friend until he got better... at least well enough to tell him what happened. _If_ he got better.

No. Don't think like that. Ink was a God. He was going to get better. Focus on other questions that actually needed answering.

_INK.... WHO DID THIS TO YOU?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ink: Well okay i'm just gonna try and kill my crush's twin brother, i can deal with whatever consequences i face, im tough  
> Nightmare: *Immediatley almost beats Dream to death and then kidnaps him  
> Ink: HOLY FRICK WHAT HAVE I DONE *breaks down crying*
> 
> ALSO
> 
> Me: Okay, guys, you're gonna do this, and you're gonna do this, and then YOU'RE gonna do THIS thing, and everything will be great and make sense! Got it? Okay, everybody?  
> My Characters: Okay, well, i _like_ that plan, but that plan _sucks_ , and i'm gonna do what _I_ wanna do, and that way it'll turn out to be less of a train wreck! Okay? Okay! Glad you agree!  
> Me: ashjkfsaeuirgaslgsduakfsdhgsdk
> 
> Whew geez writers block hit me like a freaking SEMI this chapter. like HOLY EXOTIC BUTTERS that was ruff. I had to hit the paws button fur a while... I hope you guys arf not too upset about it, but it took a LOOOOOOOOONG time to get this finished, let me tail you. But sorry for keeping you guys in the bark for so long!  
> (ok ok maybe it wasn't too long a wait but you couldn't ask me to paws up so many dog puns, meow, could i? ^w^)
> 
> Now lettuce see what announcements i shell have to make tomatoday...  
> ItzZaira (guest) and Fiddlethecat, you are this week's theory shoutout winners! have a cookie! ^^  
> 
> 
> If you liked, feel free to drop a kudos or a comment! i loaf comments. and puns. and chocolate but that's not portaining to the chapter notes... :3
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx helped out a ton with editing. They are seriously awesome! Go check out their works. They update a LOT more often than i do and their quality is amazing!
> 
> ALSO 888 hits 115 kudos? like how-  
> tysm, guyz! ^w^
> 
> *thinks* hmm i think that's all for the semi-weekly ramble for this chapter... see you next time i have time to update!  
> -Pitch


	12. Darkness (part one)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare kidnapped Dream and threw him into some sort of mystery portal. Where is the Guardian of Positivity now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow hahaha okay so i just looked at the kudos(es?) and hits for this thing  
> when i posted this it was at 1001 hits 124 kudos  
> Like how even  
> This was only supposed to be a part time fic while i got used to AO3, it wasn't supposed to blow up like this...  
> That being said i'm glad you guys like it, and i loved writing it so far! Have another (uncharacteristically quickly posted) chapter! Enjoy!
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Editing  
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Writing

Dark. Cold dark.

Where was he?

Why was it so dark?

Why did his skull hurt?

A pain in his shins and spine.  
Go away. The sleeping darkness is better than the other dark.

The pain didn't go away. Why wouldn't it leave?

Good. The sleeping darkness was coming back to take him away from the silent dark and the pain.

....

New darkness.

Where was he?

...

Sight came back to him first.

It was dark.

The first thing Dream saw was... nothing. It was so black he couldn't even make out the wall he was leaning on.

Then smell.

Wherever he was, it didn't smell... natural. It smelled chemical. Manufactured. Enclosed.  
Dangerous.

Then his hearing.  
There was nothing to hear, really. Nothing except his own uneasy breathing. No background noise. Nothing. It made him nervous. For Stars' sake, he could even hear his own Soulbeat...

Then taste.  
His mouth had a strange flavor stuck inside that wouldn't come out, no matter how much he tried to swallow. Flour and sugar. Overpoweringly sweet at that. He winced slightly.

Dream blinked a few times, his eyelights and limited nighttime vision kicking in after about half a minute. There really was nothing but blackness- the walls around him were of a tarry shadowy color, and it was hard to make them out against the actual darkness of the room. It was rather small, too- only about 150 square feet. He reached out with a hand to touch the walls tentatively.

The pain was the last thing to come back to him, along with his memory.

He gasped as shooting jolts of pure agony ran up his fingertips, his arm, his spine, his legs, his skull...  
Everywhere hurt. It hurt so badly.  
He curled up into a tiny ball on relex, choking slightly when the movement made the pain worse. He didn't like small spaces and he hurt all over. Nothing about this felt right or safe.

_Nightmare...._

Dream didn't know what to do or to think. He could barely think as it was. The pain was excruciating. He had never felt anything like this before...  
He let his healing magic kick in instinctively, tears forming at the corner of his eyesockets. _Please let there be enough left to stop the pain...._ he curled up even tighter on himself as he waited. Every second was hell on earth.

The small skeleton let out a shaky sigh of relief when the pain ebbed sometime later. He was exhausted, and there was a ringing in his skull (he was sure he had a fracture or two there), and he was starving for magic food, but he was alive.  
And now he could think.

He uncurled himself slightly and tried to summon his staff. No luck.  
He blinked away tears of disappointment that threatened to overflow. He was low on magic anyway. He shouldn't have hoped it would work. And his brother would never be so sloppy as to imprison Dream without placing multiple magic blockers. Dream probably couldn't have worked any magic even at full strength.  
Of course, that didn't make him feel any better about the situation.

He had been captured. That was... troubling? He didn't know. He couldn't really feel anything about any of this. Shock, maybe?  
Nightmare had beaten him as if he was nothing. Just another innocent, ignorant annoyance for him to destroy. He had almost killed him. Heck, if Dream hadn't woken up when he did, the damage might've intensified, and he could've Fallen Down and never woken up again.

He sighed shakily. He shouldn't have been such a sentimental idiot. Nightmare wasn't in control. He hadn't been since he had eaten the apples. Why should it have been any different now? He didn't even know why he'd expected to be able to reason with Nightmare. Dream's twin hadn't even wanted to banter as usual- just violence. Constant violence. His attacks had the intent to kill.

Dream put his face in his arms as his breath hitched, drawing his legs closer to his body.  
Why him? Why was _he_ the one suffering? What had he done to deserve this?

He began to cry. Not a childish sob like previous times. Just a silent cry as tears stained his clothes. They were more red and white than their original colors by now, small drops of moisture blending the morbid shades together on the soaked fabrics like a sort of murderous tie-dye outfit.

He stopped when he couldn't cry anymore. Everything hurt and he was _tired_.  
So, so tired.

________________________________________________________________________________

Dream woke up a bit later to a scratching, sliding, skidding noise.

Noise other than his breathing and Soulbeat.

_Someone else was here._

He skidded back, propelling himself across the floor away from the noise, wrenching his eyesockets open and flashing his eyelights with a painful jolt. His bones rattled instinctively. stay away! I may be injured but I will fight!  
Dream was sure his terrified face and posture completely offset the warning. He blinked his sockets a few times, focusing on a slightly moving blur on the other side of the room. After a few moments with his Soul racing, the colors seperated and came into focus enough for his exhausted eyes to make out what it was.

It was Killer, the one with the target-shaped Soul and the tearmarks of liquid Hate running down his skull.

The Dark Sans snorted quietly as Dream stared at him apprehensively. He seemed to be holding something.

"Here, scaredy skull. Boss told me not ta hurt ya unless you try something stupid."  
He placed the thing he was holding on the ground, not making any moves to back away from it.

Dream stared at the item. It was a tray, with a simple sandwich and water placed on top of it. His mind raced.  
On one hand, how stupid did Killer think he was? This was a pretty obvious trap.  
On the other hand, Killer could just kill him right now, couldn't he? Dream was too tired to form any magical attacks...

Or maybe this was a trick to torture him. it felt like something Not-Nightmare would do.  
.... But if there really was a magic blocker in place, Killer couldn't form any attack magic either, right? he should be at least relatively safe...  
And nothing was going to happen if he just stayed in the corner.

Mind made up, Dream cautiously stepped over to Killer, trying not to wince when his feet and legs erupted in pain from the sudden pressure. He slowly reached out for the tray with his foot, using his shoe to slide it back into the corner before following.

Killer snorted. _He looks like some sort of feral animal that's afraid of Monsters._  
He watched closely while Dream ate, eyeing him and doing his best to make Dream feel unwelcome and uneasy.

Dream attacked the sandwich ravenously. It was only a few slices of meat trapped between some bread, but it was Monster food, and his magic levels desperately needed replenishing. He quickly finished off the sandwich, not taking his eyes off of Killer for a second. He drank a small sip of the water before sliding the tray away with his foot slightly, curling back up in the corner. At least the sugary floury taste was out of his mouth now...

Killer almost laughed. As it was, a small chuckle came out of his teeth despite his wishes. Dream ate like he hadn't had any food in weeks! Sure, his magic was pretty low, but it couldn't be as bad as that. He knew what starving felt like. So did Horror.

Dream curled up tighter when he heard Killer's cruel snicker. He looked up at the other skeleton somewhat fearfully.

"Wh... what do you want from me...?"  
Dream cringed at the sound of his own voice. It rasped and crackled like he hadn't used it in months.

"Ehh, nothing much. Ya done with that tray?" Killer smirked down at Dream, his posture dominant and threatening.

Dream froze slightly before sliding the tray, with the plate and glass still half full with water, towards Killer. It bumped off of the other's slipper, all velocity gone.

"Not much of a talker, huh?" Killer said sarcastically, picking up the tray. Dream averted his eyelights momentairily.

"Well. Some ground rules, okay? Since ya don't seem like too bad a guy."  
Dream flicked his eyelights back to Killer instantly. The other skeleton looked somewhat anxious, like he was doing something he shouldn't have.

"First off, uh, Boss is going to be seeing you soon, I think. Don't mouth off to him or anything, alright? He isn't.... he hasn't been himself lately."

Dream wondered what he was even talking about. "Boss" must have meant Nightmare, but what did Killer mean by the fact that he wasn't himself? Was something wrong?

"Second, don't do anythin', and i mean _anythin'_ , to annoy him. His self control ain't the best right now, and he might do some things he'd regret."

Some things he'd regret... like killing him painfully and terribly?  
Dream felt it would be something along those lines.

....  
Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaah that didn't make him feel better about this situation whatsoever.

"An' third. I'd appreciate it if ya didn't mention this to the Boss, allright? Other than the food, I uh, wasn't supposed to be here."  
Killer looked more threatening now.  
"I wouldn't hesitate to take some more of that innocent HP from you if ya can't keep your mouth shut. An' I don't have to get you so much food for your trap, either. So keep it shut, okay?"

Dream nodded fiercely. If it meant more food and less pain, he'd shut up about it. Inside he wondered why Killer was even going through all this for him...

"AUGH i'm LATE!!"  
Dream jumped slightly and curled up further at Killer's annoyed shout, flinching further away. The latter was staring at a small wristwatch hidden up his sleeve.

Killer gave Dream one last threatening stare. "Don't try anything."

Dream nodded, his throat dry, his mind whirling, his head aching. He watched as Killer disappeared with a small zap in the nearby magical vicinity.  
He groaned internally. So the Dark Sanses could use magic other than healing magic in here. He just couldn't. Great.

There was a nagging pain in the back of his skull still, but his phalanges couldn't detect any cracks. A concussion? That'd probably be just his luck...  
Everywhere else hurt. Not as bad, but it still hurt. And constantly, darn it.

The light that was coming from nowhere when Killer was in the room died out slowly, leaving Dream in complete darkness.  
He groaned, uncurling slightly to lay down on the floor. He was tired, still hungry, and in pain. And now he had a visit from his brother to "look forward to"...

He closed his eyesockets tightly against a wave of tears that threatened to overflow.

_Ink, i swear, i will love you for the rest of my life if you get me out of here. Even if it was your fault i'm in here in the first place, by some weird, distorted logic, because of your dumb decisions._

_Just... just get me out of here!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Okay, i'm going to finish the scene with Dream and Ink today, and there will be fluff and the elusive Smiling Sans! And everything will be right with the world! Yay me!  
> Subconsious: But angsssst  
> Me: No  
> Subconsious: But you could do the one scene with Dream  
> Me: Noooooo....  
> Subconsious: You don't haveta write a ton of characters it'll be an easy angsty chapter you might even get it done early  
> Me: DARN YOU WHY ARE YOU SO PERSUASIVE
> 
> ....#blameitonchara
> 
> I have decided to make the "Monster dust tastes like flour and sugar" thing headcanon in all my future stories. Sue me.
> 
> ...Don't have a lot of rambling stuff for the notes this chapter for once. Guess i'll see you guys in the comments or next chapter, then!  
> Drop a kudos if you liked ^w^
> 
> Big thanks again to xXUndertale_LoverXx, they help out a TON with editing. You guys owe them at least a day and a half less waiting each update! (also, go check out their work. They are seriously awesome.)  
> -PitchBlackWings


	13. Darkness (part two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of last chapter. Dream gets a visit from his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well WRITERS BLOCK HAS FLED AT LONG LAST 
> 
> Enjoy a continuation of this angst in a bottle! :3
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - editing  
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Writing

Dream was huddled up in the corner of his tiny cell.  
It was so cold here...

The stone floor and walls were freezing to the touch. It was very uncomfortable and made it almost impossible to sleep.  
Not that he could've slept anyways.

With the new threat of Nightmare visiting him, he was entirely on edge. And Killer's warnings hadn't helped in the slightest.  
What on Earth did he mean by the fact that Nightmare "wasn't himself"? Extremely dangerous? Psychotic? More sadistic than normal? All of the above?

...this train of thought wasn't helping either.

He tucked his head to his chest, trying to use his internal clock to tell what time of day it was. Midnight? Dawn? Afternoon? He had no idea. This stone prison had completely destroyed all track of time. He could've stayed in here for days, and he wouldn't have any idea.  
Nobody was going to find him here.

Were his friends even looking for him? What had they thought? What happened to Ink? Dream tried to remember what had happened.  
A black tendril, snaking across his neck and ribs. Nightmare holding him aloft. A strange weightless feeling.  
Blurriness and pain.

Nightmare had choked him out, he knew that much. And then he'd woken up here, with no idea what had happened in between.

There was nothing to do here but wait. There were no cracks in the wall to inspect for weaknesses, no irregularities in the room. It was dark as well, hindering Dream's vision almost nonexistent. Of course, anyone with negative or dark-based magic could see just fine (Nightmare, Horror, maybe Fell, etc.), but he was stuck with blurry eyesight for the most part. Another thing that Nightmare wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of.

But Dream was fine with waiting. It was better than the alternative...

\----(timeskip brought to you by Tem Shop. Sponsor our Temmie's colleg fund and make Tems proud!)----

Dream was startled awake and out of position by a sudden light in the room. How he had fallen asleep in these conditions, he'd never know.

Killer was standing in the middle of the room, face tense. He gave Dream no time to react.

"Sssh! Ya remember what i told ya?" he snapped in a harsh whisper. Dream nodded, swallowing down a startled yelp at the other's sudden appearance.

"Alright, good. Boss's coming. Don't tell him you talked to me. I'll come over after with food. 'Kay?" his voice was low and rushed.  
Dream nodded again. "A-alright?"

Killer stepped back and vanished, but the light stayed on.

...Why was Killer bothering to help him? Dream was his mortal enemy! Killer was a Dark Sans! He should've been kicking him into submission and injuring him further!  
Not... giving him food and advice.

Was Killer a good person?

Sure, he was rough, but Fell was, too, and he didn't side with evil.  
If Killer cared enough about his worst enemy, enough to help him out even when he was completely at his mercy...  
Did that mean there was a chance that Dream could save Killer from being corrupted as Nightmare had been? Could Killer get rid of his loyalty to evil and help him escape...?

Dream was jolted out of his train of thought by a noise. Some kind of trickling sound was coming from the center of the floor.

He looked down towards the source apprehensively.

A swirling puddle of something viscous and black enough to stand out even in the coal-dark cell. It was quickly growing in diameter, enlarging faster than Dream could react.

Suddenly, a jet of the substance shot into the air. Dream pressed himself further into the corner as the oily spray formed the shape of a person, the puddle at the bottom of the figure's feet slowly being absorbed into the larger shape.

Dream stared at the ooze as it slowly formed the shape of a tall skeleton, save for four black tendrils waving slowly from the figure's back, curled dangerously.

Nightmare...

The shadows seemed to flow around his brother's form as his single cyan eye opened and focused on Dream's form. The Guardian of Negativity had his hands in his pockets as he stared down at his brother with an emotionless mask on his skull.

"Dream."

Dream looked up at his sibling warily. He was already starting to feel even weaker from Nightmare's negativity...  
"W-what... what do you want?"

Nightmare shrugged. "From you specifically? Information. Star Sanses' base location, Ink's Doodle Sphere firewall acess code, whatever. Spill."

At least he go straight to the point... Dream shook his head. He had expected this, and he was never going to give away his friends.

Nightmare frowned dangerously.  
"Dream. I have other methods. You don't want to see the other methods."

Dream shook his head again, not trusting his voice after the way it had cracked earlier. If Blueberry could handle being kidnapped by Error, then he could handle anything Nightmare would throw at him.

Nightmare sighed.  
"I had hoped we wouldn't have to do this, Dream. But since you insist..."

The inky black skeleton plunged some of his tentacles into the floor, creating a strange sort of vortex-portal with his ooze and magic. Dream watched with reluctant curiousity as the tentacles withdrew, leaving seven cylidrical containers covered with black slime.  
Nightmare's tentacles retracted to their normal 'passive' length, and the tarry skeleton watched the cylinders with expectancy. Dream frowned and stared at them as well. They didn't seem like they had anything important inside.  
Wait. Something was glowing as the slime began to drip off of the cylinders...

Oh no.  
_Stars, no..._

The first cylinder, the one closest to Dream, had a glowing yellow heart inside.  
Dream looked at the other cylinders with growing horror. Yellow, cyan, blue, green, orange, purple, and red Souls beat forlornly inside their magical prisons.

He looked up at Nightmare again, pain in his eyes. Why would he do something like this?

"I see I have your attention now," Nightmare said calmly. "Here are the rules."  
"Since you don't want to talk, for every question you don't answer, i'll kill off a Soul. And oh, look, you already refused to answer one of mine..."

Dream's eyelights vanished.  
No. Noonononononono!

"No, please! Don't hurt them, I'll-!" his voice was frantic and desperate, and he rose to his feet shakily, not sure what he could do.  
"Ut tut tut," Nightmare purred, shoving Dream back down to the cold stone floor easily with a tentacle. "Rules are rules. And this way you'll know that I'm serious."

He looked at the containers on the stone besides him. "What color should we start with first?"

Dream stared at the containers, the tiny hearts beating in perfect harmony inside. They had nothing to do with any of this. They didn't deserve this!  
"Nightmare, please, i'm begging you-"

"Oooh, this yellow one looks like you, Dream," Nightmare said, a false tone of cheerfulness injecting itself in his voice. "And its trait sounds exactly like you, too!"

The inky black skeleton released the Soul from its container and snatched it up with a tendril. The small Soul began to pulse more frantically as Nightmare began to squeeze it.

" _Justice._ The stupid idea that if you keep fighting, that if you never give in, the right thing will happen, and everything will be all kittens and rainbows in the end. But do you know what, Dream?"

Dream stared at the Soul, trying to think of something he could do to save it. His throat wouldn't work, his voice wouldn't work, he couldn't even get up... all he could do was stare.

_"That's a lie."_ Nightmare began to squeeze the tiny yellow heart tighter and tighter, constricting his tentacle bit by bit.  
"The world isn't going to change based on your pitiful beliefs. Do you know what happens to people who never give in, who never bend, Dream?"

The yellow JUSTICE Soul beat harder and harder, trying to resist the pressure of Nightmare's tentacle.  
Dream's eyes were filled with panic, and he was fighting to keep the tears inside.

The Soul beat one final time, bright and colorful and full of energy, and then...  
It burst.  
Nightmare's tentacle constricted on empty space before uncurling, covered in yellow dust that was quickly absorbed into the ooze flowing all over the dark Guardian's body.

**"They break."**

The tears finally overflowed from Dream's eyesockets, and he stared at Nightmare's blurring form.  
"Why?"

Oh, NOW my voice works. great. thanks a lot.

Nightmare snapped his fingers, and the rest of the Soul containers vanished, having been teleported away.  
"Because I can, little bro."

Dream stared at the empty Soul container that used to hold the innocent JUSTICE Soul. Nightmare was still holding it in a tentacle. "W-we're twins."

Nightmare stared down at him, not putting on any emotions for show. His face was simply a blank mask. Dream had never seen that before...

"Hardy har har, Dream, you're a riot. I want you to think about what you just did, now. And think about what will happen if you decide to try it again."

He turned his back on his brother, preparing to teleport away himself.  
"I'll see you soon."

Dream exhaled a breath he didn't know he'd been holding once Nightmare left.

_It's a lie. It wasn't my fault. He'd have killed the Soul anyway..._

__

__

_I'm not a murderer...._

__

__

He curled up in the corner again, put his face into his arms, and sobbed harshly, choking on his tears. He was tired, hungry, and horrified at what he had just seen. He couldn't get the fact that Nightmare had done it because he had refused him, that Nightmare said it was his fault that the child's yellow JUSTICE Soul no longer beat. That Dream had killed an innocent Soul. That he now had a black mark on his own Soul. That he might now have LV. That Nightmare had forced EXP and LV on him...

He couldn't force himself to look at his CHECK. He couldn't spend any more time in this hellhole. He couldn't.

_Stars, I can't take any more of this...!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well i just wrote that.
> 
> I have tests coming up (ACT studies), sI'll llbe trying to get the next chapter out soon, but there may be delays. Sorry about that...
> 
> If you liked, drop a kudos or a comment! I always endorse theory comments. They make my day ^w^
> 
> Big thanks to xXUndertale_LoverXx for editing. They help out a TON with the time aspect... go check them out, theyre awesome!
> 
> And also...  
> One thousand fifty kudos  
> HOW  
> Guys tysm aaaaaahhhhh
> 
> *coughs*  
> i think thats all the notes i have for this chapter... see you next update! :3
> 
> -Pitch


	14. What happened to you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Ink? Last we saw, Blueberry was taking care of him......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOFLES y'all's comments and positive reinforcement (so to speak i can't think of any better synonyms blehh) have been OFF THE CHARTZ. Thank y'all for reading this! ^w^
> 
> Me: Okay this chapter will have angst/COMFORT!!!! A nice change!  
> Chara: How dare you  
> Me: Shaddup i'm in control now mueheheheheheh
> 
> guys the ACT test sucks  
> it SUCKS  
> BleEEHHH  
> I am tired. So dead and tired of studying.  
> I NEED A BREAK BIGGER THAN MCDONALDS ICE CREAM MACHINE
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Editor/Beta Reader  
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

Ink's head hurt.  
Very, very badly.

Oh my STARS how is it possible for something to hurt this bad?!

He pried open his eyesockets slowly and painfully.  
Ow ow ow.

He was in his room, in his bed, and oh my god it's so bright turn off the light turn it off right now ahahahahaha

He closed his eyesockets and clenched them shut for a few seconds. All he had seen were a blur of colors that was probably his room...

"You're awake!"

Ooookay that was Blueberry, why was he in his room, why was his VOICE SO LOUD IT HURT OW OW OW

"Oops, sorry about that..." The voice was much quieter now, and Ink risked a cracked eyesocket to look around.  
Blueberry was sitting next to his bed, seemingly delighted that he had woken up.

"What happened?" Ink groaned, squinnting against the light in his room.

Blueberry's face fell a bit.  
"You... you collasped in the living room and almost Fell Down or something, Ink. It was... really, really bad..."  
The usually hyperactive skeleton looked down sorrowfully.  
"I did the best i could, but you'll still have several scars almost everywhere now, and I'm not that good at healing..."

Ink felt horrible when he saw how Blueberry was beating himself up about it.  
"No, no, Blue, look, I'm fine! If you hadn't found me, I'd be... well, not dust, since I'm a God, but... in a whole lot of pain and probably a coma! You did a great job... especially considering how much damage I had..."

He shuddered slightly when he remembered feeling the sticky, gritty sensations everywhere and tasting nothing but flour in his mouth. It was a miracle that Blueberry had managed to heal him up this much... at least he was still concious and in bearable amounts of pain, now...

Blueberry brightened slightly.  
"Really? I used a lot of the MediMagic Kit we had stored up, but it helped a ton! Especially the healing gel!"  
His face morphed into a sort of guarded concern soon after a slight pause.

"Ink... what happened to you to get hurt that badly? I've seen you come home hurt a lot, but never... like that..."

Ink winced.  
"Um... It was Nightmare..." he confessed shakily.  
Blueberry's confusion grew. "But he's never done anything like that before! Never that much damage!"

Ink hung his head.  
"Yeah. But I was busy fighting his entire gang and... I left Dream to fight Nightmare alone..."

Something clicked in Blue's head.

"Ink... where's Dream?"

Ink looked away and turned his head slightly, regardless of the pain that shot through his vertebrae.

"Ink...."

"N-Nightmare took him, okay?!"

Ink glared at Blue through tear-filled eyelights, his emotions overflowing. His paint colors were acting up terribly- his blue paint was almost gone from the dripping rainbow Soul his other paints formed once drunk at this point...

"Nightmare took h-him and I don't know what to do and- and!"

Blueberry stared at Ink in shock and dismay as the Creator broke down into tears, everything that had happened recently finally catching up to him. The small blue-clothed skeleton carefully hugged Ink, who clung onto him like a lifeline, needing every ounce of comfort he could get.

"I-I couldn't save h-him and now Nightmare has him a-and it's all m-my fault and I don't know- I can't-!"

"Sssh."  
Blueberry slowly rubbed Ink's back, careful not to touch any of the bandages. "Ssshhh. It's not your fault, Ink."

Ink looked up at Blueberry confusedly, tears running down his skull. "B-but-"

"Ink. Did you kidnap Dream?"

"N-no, but-"

"And did you hurt Dream?"

"Never!" Now Ink was slightly indignant.

"Then why would you think this is your fault? This is Nightmare's fault, not yours. You didn't want- or deserve- any of this, okay?"  
Blueberry smiled down at him, comforting Ink all the while.

Ink buried his face inside Blueberry's scarf. Inside, he was relieved that Blue didn't judge him. He even comforted him, said it wasn't his fault...  
That didn't make this whole thing any easier to handle though.

"W..what exactly did I break?" Ink asked hesitantly, pulling away from the hug.

Blueberry frowned, trying to remember.  
"Some of everything, pretty much. Your skull, both tibia... your left arm is completely out of commission, and your vertebrae is pretty well cracked up. In other words.... you won't be walking for a while, Ink. Or doing much of anything, until you heal up."

Ink pouted slightly, then looked at his left arm under the covers. Sure enough, there was a rainbow colored cast around it, keeping the bones still while he healed up.

"…You'll send out a search party for Dream, right?" Ink asked quietly, not looking Blueberry in the eyelights.

Blueberry nodded seriously, his expression tinged with sympathy and sorrow. "I'll call a meeting the day you can actually take bright light and PortalTiming withough being in pain."

The front door opened with a slow clicking noise.

"I wasn't expecting anyone..." Blueberry said thoughtfully, fingering his bandanna. "I wonder if it's a surprise visit?"

A voice boomed out from the entryway.  
"OY! ANYONE HOME?!"

Blueberry relaxed, as did Ink. They knew that voice, although Ink thought it sounded a bit strange. Tired, maybe, and hoarse.

"We're in Ink's room!" Blueberry called out, cringing apologetically when he saw Ink wincing from his loud tone. "Sorry."  
Ink rubbed the back of his cast. "It's fine."

Both skeletons looked up at the sound of footsteps stomping up to Ink's doorway.

A skeleton dressed in a large, edgy, black fluffy jacket strode slowly into the room, his posture and body langusage signaling sorrow and stiffness. It actually took Ink a few seconds to recognize him. He was so different from the skeleton he had known before...

He was carrying a large black... breadbox? Jewlery box? It was unadorned except for a clasp on the lid. The skeleton was holding the box in a way someone might hold a diamond or a fragile egg- like it might break at any moment. Like it was something special.  
Why would a box be special...?

"Red... What happened? What is that?" Blue asked hesitantly, faltering at the red skeleton's sober expression.

"Not a what. Who. Who was that." Red's raspy voice shocked Ink and Blue. Red was usually much more upbeat than this...

Ink was a bit worried. "Red, what are you talking about? What's in the box?"

Red didn't say anything, but he opened the box. It was velvet lined with care put into its design. Inside was a little mound of...

...White...

"Found it today," Red said hoarsely. "Have the footage. Didn't wanna... watch it alone."

Blue was shocked, putting his hands over his mouth in mortification.  
Ink was furious. But more than anything, he was scared.  
So, so scared.

"Who did this? Who would even do this-" the Creator's voice choked off with a little cry.  
"I-it's not... not Dream, is it?"

Red hung his head. "Sorry, but i don't know. All i have is a footage tape and the box that came up on my doorstep. I didn't- I didn't wanna watch it alone…"

Blueberry reached out with shaking hands to grasp the tape Red passed to him. The tape was speckled with so much dust it almost made him sick...

"W-well... let's get this o-over with..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ......  
> :3
> 
> I DID only say there would be angst/comfort in the beginning. I said nothing about the ending not containing a mystery box of dust or someone probably being murdered or revenge or angst or any other kind of non-fluffpuffiness or a cliffhanger and ahahaha OKAY IM GONNA STOP MYSELF RIGHT NOW
> 
> Chara: I knew you couldn't do it. I KNEW you couldn't just give your readers fluff and comfort.  
> Me: SHADDUP CHARA
> 
> I need help can someone call a ghost exterminator or Sans or something please
> 
> ...  
> IF YOU HAVE THEORIES ON WHOSE DUST THAT IS AND WHO KILLED THEM, FEEL FREE TO COMMENT THE THEORIES!  
> If you get it right, you can have a cookie and a shoutout :3
> 
> See you next time i have time to update i suppose! I might be a little late bc ya know tests and stuff. Blech.  
> -Pitch


	15. The Tape (part one)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What did the tape have to say? And whose dust is in Red's box?
> 
> (Shoutout to CanTour for predicting the answer to the latter of these questions! Great job, buddy! ^w^)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well i left yall at an absolutely evil cliffhanger last chapter.
> 
> ...  
> NO REGRETS ^w^
> 
> And give me a little slack if i'm not completely accurate in my descriptions plz ^^' it's either headcannon or the fact that i can't remember to save my life and i'm too lazy to look it up... it may end up looking a little like Original Undertale... ~~Also maybe bc i am as sick as a darn dog rn, ahahah this sucks so much...~~
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor  
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author
> 
> Guys ahahahahahah the ACT test practicing is killing me more than the sickness ahahahahah  
> Like can i just finish the darn test and be done already please please
> 
>   
> 😅😓

Red nodded as Blueberry slid the tape into Ink's video player. It was the best compatible device they had in the base so far, and this way Ink could see the tape as well.

The blue-clad skeleton pressed the PLAY button on the device with trembling hands before sitting on Ink's bed next to him to watch the tapes. Red had taken up the chair Blueberry had been sitting in earlier.

zzztt

Everyone's eyes were on the screen as the tape began to play.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_whirrrrrrrrrrrrrr_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snow was everywhere, blurring the camera feed a bit.  
The first part of the tape was in the Ruins, showing a Flowey. It was muttering to itself, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were being watched. Or maybe Flowey just didn't care?

Suddenly, the flower's head shot up, a scowl quickly transforming into a smug grin as it stared at a blind spot in the camera's vision, where the door would've been. Evidently, someone was there, from the sudden sound of slow, calculated breathing.

"Oh boy! It's the smiley trashbag!" Flowey exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "How are ya doing, grandpa?"

Flowey's patronizing smile faded a bit as he stared at the doorway.  
"Sans? What's going on, you idiot?"

A voice, cold and calm.

"Oh, nothing much."

Flowey relaxed slightly. "Uh, really? Why dont'cha tell me anyway, i'm bored enough to hear about your nonexistent social life right now."

The shadows at the edge of the monitor deepened slightly.

**"Just the end of the world."**

Flowey jerked back, surrounding himself with his Friendliness Pellets. "Sans? Hey, what the- you're not-!!"

The monitor blacked out, showing nothing but static. The sound worked perfectly fine, though.

The _whoosh_ of a blade.

_-9999_

"...what..?"

The soft _shhffff_ of dust blowing across a surface.

The monitor feed glitched back into being, showing a pile of dust. A small, yellow flower petal lay delicately on top of it before being swept away by a gentle breath of wind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The feed cut to a different scene immediatley.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A small Monster Kid was walking through the deep drifts in the woods, holding a small bundle in his mouth. It seemed as if he was carrying something.

He continued through the snow, humming softly as he progressed down the path.

After a short while, the young Monster suddenly stopped and turned towards a dark thicket of trees.

"Hello?"

A rustling noise came from the bushes.

"Anyone there?"

The rustling noise grew insistent, then stopped.

Monster Kid tilted his head at the bushes, a smile on his face.  
"Aww, don't be shy! I'm nice, i promise!"

He walked towards the bushes, stopping a short distance away.

"Is this like a game of hide-and-seek?" he asked curiously.

The bushes rustled again, more inistently this time. A shadow darker than the rest coming into view, then fading back away into the trees.

"Is that a yes? Do you want to play with me?" Monster Kid seemed very eager. He hadn't had a lot of friends to play with lately, and the chance to make a new one excited him.

"......Sure."

Another voice, deep and smooth and dangerous, echoed softly from the trees.

**"Let's play a game."**

The camera feed glitched slightly, then blacked out completely, staying that way for a few heartbeats. Nothing changed. Everything about this felt wrong.

A shrill, pained, panicked yell that was cut off cruelly... then silence.

The camera feed glitched back into being. There were no footsteps, no marred marks on the snow save for a few errant spatters of red.

A scarf tinged with still-spreading ruby stains lay in the middle of a pile of white powder, too fine to be snow.

Dust caught in the wind, swirling in the sky from the new pile underneath the scarf.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The camera feed sped up time, stopping when a Papyrus came marching along into veiw, humming softly. The skeleton stopped and stared at the pile of red ashen dust on the ground next to the bloodstained scarf and snow.

"WHO... WHO WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS?" The Papyrus's voice trembled as he bent down to pick up the scarf, wrapping it around the remaining dust, bundling the remains tightly inside. His eyesockets were watering slightly. They had been a good, innocent kid. They didn't deserve this...

A rustling noise came from the bushes.

Papyrus whirled around. "WHO IS THERE?"

A slight pause, Soul racing. Then, an answer.

The same cold, heavy voice that had answered Monster Kid.

"Why don't you come find out?"

"DID YOU DO THIS?" Papyrus demanded, somewhat angrily. He hated to jump to conclusions, but if this Monster had dusted an innocent child...

Silence.

"SHOW YOURSELF!!"

A slight pause. Then the voice again.

"Oh, Papyrus....." A chilling chuckle filled the air as Papyrus glared at the thicket where the strange voice was coming from.

**"Don't you know not to ask questions you don't want the answers to?"**

The camera feeds blacked out again, leaving nothing but the audio.

"WAIT- WHAT? SANS? WHAT HAPPENED? WHY ARE YOU SO-?"

"W-WHAT... WHAT ARE YOU DOING? SANS, WHY ARE YOU... SANS, WAIT, STOP, DON'T-!!"

A heartrending, agonized, terrifying scream, obviously coming from Papyrus, drawn out until it was cut off with a sickening snap of bone breaking.

The camera gained color once more, showing a red scarf on the white snow. There were only a few drops of red to suggest that anything had happened...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The camera feed blacked out again, whirring slightly.

_TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. SPEEDING FOOTAGE TO 23:00._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The feed now showed Snowdin Town... or what remained of it.

Ashes littered the ground, showing a deep contrast to the stark white snow and dust everywhere. The buildings... or what was left of them... were completely destroyed, burned to the ground and demolished. There were a few fires still burning stubbornly, despite the flurries of tiny snowflakes beginning to drift from the rocky 'sky'.

There was a single figure standing near the town, a small, somewhat stocky humanoid with a white coat on. It seemed to be afraid to enter the wreckage.

_"Why...?"_

A hoarse voice drifted from the creasture, barely audible. It began to tremble violently.

Suddenly, it vanished.

Just... gone.  
Like it was never there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. SPEEDING FOOTAGE TO 25:00._

The camera footage cut to an Alphys's Lab- more specifically, the security camera viewing room.

There were four in the room- Asgore, Alphys herself, Undyne, and a Sans. They were gathered near the main monitor, speaking in solemn tones.

"Undyne, are all the survivors evactuated to the bunker in New Home?" Asgore inquired, his deep voice tired beyond belief.

Undyne nodded, her hands playing with a glowing spear in her hands. "Yes, Asgore."

"And... how many survivors are there?"

Alphys spoke up this time, her head bowed slightly. "F-fifty-three."

Asgore's face fell, and he closed his eyes, taking deep breaths in an efffort to calm himnself down.

"Any Guard members left?" He asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Undyne shook her head. The Sans stuffed his hands in his pockets.  
"It's only us left and the civilians," the Sans said quietly. "And even then, we have... no survivors... from Snowdin..."  
His voice trailed off, and he visibly choked down tears.

"Who would do something like this?" Undyne asked quietly, rage buried deep within her voice.

"I-It's not, who w-would do this, but w-who _could_ do s-something like this," Alphys said, her voice trembling more than normal. "N-no normal monster h-has power of this capacity, i-it's impossible for even a h-human to have done t-this..."

**"Well, what do you know, the lizard is right for once."**

****

A strange voice boomed from the shadows. There was no place to visibly hide in the room, but the deep, chilling tone rang out all the same...

****

"Who are you?!" Undyne growled, forming several spears to aim at vaguely where the voice had come from.

****

****

_shckkkkkk_

****

-9999

****

-9999

****

-9999

****

The Sans's eyes widened as shards of black shadow stabbed through the others in the room, staring in horror and disbelief as they slowly disintigrated into white dust, collasping in on themselves to form dead white piles on the floor of the lab.

****

****

"What a bother. But hey, at least we're alone now, eh?"

****

****

His eyelights whipped back to the shadows where the voice had come from.

****

****

Something... someone was coming out of them...

****

****

The Sans stared as the form of another skeleton slipped from the darkness near the wall, a single eyelight glowing a dangerous bright cyan, tendrils waving slowly from his back, a smile as fake as Velveeta on his face.

****

****

_"Hello, Sci."_

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chara: Yessss, that's great, but add a little more detail there... the readers need to be able to FEEL the horror...  
> Me: I'm feeling the horror already  
> Chara: You ARE?!  
> Me: Yea i wonder why maybe its because i have a DARNED GHOST TRYING TO TELL ME HOW TO WRITE STUFF  
> Chara:...  
> Chara: Or maaaybe it's because you took my advice and added more details! Yay!!  
> Me: asdkasdkaskdaksdkaksdkaskdskasdk
> 
> LATER THAT DAY:  
> Random person: Ma'am  
> Me: Mhm  
> Random person: Ma'am i stole your identity earlier  
> Me: No returnies  
> Random person: Ma'am please  
> Me: :3  
> Random person: I'm begging you  
> 
> 
> ...
> 
> ENJOY ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!! ~~it's definitely not because i was not feeling well and decided to be lazy and evil and cut the chapter in half...~~
> 
> Yeppity yep this chapter had the angsties like no other chapter. Poor Sci.  
> Still no regrets tho 😋
> 
> See you next time i have time to post another chapter of this ball of horror!  
> -Pitch


	16. The Tape (part two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the tape.  
>  ~~I defidently didn't originally have both of these as one chapter and decided to split it later...~~
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof i'm at 1500 something hits and 160 something kudos!  
> Glad people are reading this and enjoying it!
> 
> I think some people were like, "Oh well, that's the end of the tape, what's the fallout gonna be?"  
> HAHA NOPE i have NOT milked enough angst out of this situation yet and it is WAY too vague so HERE YOU GO
> 
> SOME HEADCANNON:  
> Unless a Monster is a God or a Guardian or something akin to it, they all need to breathe. I don't know how. I don't know why. It's probably for different reasons for each Monster. But SKELETON MONSTERS NEED TO BREATHE they are not just skeletons that can be like, "Yeet,,, i feel like walking on the bottom of the ocean today,,, im gonna do it".
> 
> MORE HEADCANNON: Nightmare's tentacles have a huge reach. Like, huge. And since they're selectively stretchy, they can reach... i dunno, forty, maybe fifty feet on a whim? Any more than that and he kinda loses control over the weight and stuff I DONT KNOW IM NOT A ROCKET SCIENTIST IM JUST A SKELEDOCTOR  
> 
> 
> And I think that Chara's the one who hid the bottle of fluff i had planned for this story...

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_  
whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Sci stared at the figure that stepped out of the shadows.  
"Impossible. T-that's physically impossible."

Nightmare shrugged. "Obviously not. I thought you were the smart Sans?"

Sci regained control of himself, and with that control came rage. Nightmare had just dusted Alphys. He had killed Undyne and Asgore!  
He glared, activating his magic and summoning dozens of sharp white bones. With a wave of his hand, they embedded themselves into Nightmare.

The goopy skeleton just stood there and took the hits, ending up looking like a pincushion with all the miniature spears stuck in his bones and tentacles.

Sci stared in horror as the bone attacks began to... disentegrate.  
The shards of bone melted away, leaving small holes in Nightmare's form that quickly filled up with excess corruption.

"Alright, you've had your little temper tantrum," Nightmare said, his tone bored. "Fun's over."

Sci began to hyperventilate as, suddenly, a thick, black tentacle shot from Nightmare's back, wrapping around him and lifting him off the ground. He struggled, but in his anger, he had formed way too many bone attacks, and his magic resivour was almost exhausted. His strength was minute, and the tendril was not giving an inch in response to his movements. Sci slumped, exhaling shakily.

The Guardian of Negativity looked at Sci, an expression of utter disgust on his face.  
"You had the nerve to try to assassinate me, but you don't have the guts to look me in the sockets?"

Sci did his best to glare at Nightmare. "I'm a skeleton. I don't have nerves. Or guts."

Nightmare gasped in mock surprise. "Oh, really? I didn't know that!"

The tendril squeezed suddenly, taking the breath from Sci's chest and leaving him wheezing for air.  
"I'd prefer it if you didn't play smark aleck with me," Nightmare remarked, watching Sci writhe in his grip with morbid interest. "After all, I don't have control over just your life, but over all the Monsters in your pathetic AU as well, you know."

Sci gasped for air as the tentacle eased its grip on him, his eyelights small and panicked as he stared at Nightmare. All the Monsters in the AU...  
"Wh-what's that supp-posed to m-mean?"

He winced at his shaky voice, trying to inhale more steadily so the wheeze didn't show in his tone.

Nightmare flicked a tentacle towards the monitor, switching the channel to the bunker where the remaining inhabitants were hiding from the deadly intruders.

Sci's eyelights shrank further.  
" _No._ "

Nightmare rolled his single eyelight. "Did you honestly expect that we would be able to travel to your AU, murder all but half a hundred of the original population, and evade all of your security cameras, but not find your little hiding spot?"

He smirked.  
"Please. I thought you could do better than that, Sci. Extra security around the opening or _something._ "

Sci closed his sockets, trembling slightly in Nightmare's iron grip.  
"Dust me, do whatever you want to me, but don't hurt them. I swear, i'll do whatever you want, but they don't deserve any of this."

Nightmare's sadistic smile widened.

"Heh. I won't be doing anything to them yet, anyway. You haven't been punished nearly enough for your crimes."

A clacking, rattling noise in the hallway.  
Labored, pained breathing.  
An annoyed growl, then a pained exhalation.

Sci's eyelights vanished as he saw the two skeletons enter the room.

One of them was tall and heavily built, with one huge, red eyelight and a jagged hole in his skull. He was holding an axe to the back of the other skeleton, who was injured and struggling to keep concious.

His brother.

**"PAPYRUS!!"**  
Sci struggled furiously at the tentacles holding him captive, trying again and again to flare up his magic, only to feel it be drained away by the ooze surrounding his legs and torso. "What did you do to him?!

Nightmare looked up at his prisoner with annoyance, letting his tendrils squeeze Sci's chest again, tighter than before.

The white skeleton trembled against the pressure on his ribs, gasping in pain when he felt a slight crack.

Nightmare eased his grip, but only slightly, leaving Sci with barely enough room to breathe.  
"Next time you try something like that, I'll break a phalange," he said, his voice soft and dangerous. "And another one. And another."

Sci glared at him through his tears. "What.... did you do... to my... brother?!"

Nightmare grinned at this remark.  
"Nothing, compared to what we're going to do presently," he said, eyelight bright with malice.  
"Horror, let him go."

The other skeleton released Papyrus, letting him fall to the floor with a few soft snaps of fractured bone.  
"Tsk, Horror," the goopy skeleton chuckled as he stared at the figure lying prone on the floor, "You should be more careful. After all, we can't have my little plaything dying before I have some _fun_ with him, can we?"

Nightmare gingerly picked Papyrus's limp form off of the ground with his tentacles, holding each leg and arm in a separeate vicelike grip.

The Guardian of Negativity turned his gaze to Sci.  
"Well, since he's your brother, you get the first pick. Legs or arms?"

Sci tried to thrash again, but the tentacles restrained him once more. "Please, just let him go! He didn't do anything!!"

"You'd be surprised how very often that doesn't matter," Nightmare said with a smirk.

"And since you didn't answer, I'll have to choose. Hmm."

The tentacles tightened around Papyrus's ankles and wrists painfully as Horror stepped forwards, a bone attack in one hand and his axe in the other.

**"...What about...both?"**

Papyrus's screams echoed through the empty white halls as his femurs and scapula were cracked methodically by Horror's bone attack, fractured plenty to put the poor skeleton in a world of pain, but not cracked enough to fall apart. Yet.

Sci's voice broke, hoarse from screaming. His sockets were streaming tears down his skull.  
"Please! Please stop! I'll do anything, just stop!!"

Nightmare's smile widened.

"Horror, break his ribs."

Papyrus was slumped in Nightmare's tentacles once Horror had snapped his ribs. Sci's voice was rasping from his terror-induced shrieks.  
"Please, Nightmare, please! I swear, he didn't do anything, he doesn't deserve any of this! Stop it, please!"

Nightmare stared at Sci for a few seconds, then shrugged.  
"If you insist."

Sci froze, then relaxed, slumping in Nightmare's tentacles from exertion. "Thank the stars. Thank the stars..."

Nightmare relaxed the tentacles holding Papyrus hostage, letting his limp form clatter to the floor.  
He reared a single, sharpened tendril, narrowing his eye at the tall skeleton.

With one blurred motion, Papyrus's bones dissolved to an unnatural white, deteriorating into a fine dust on the floor.

Sci stared at the dust, not speaking. His voice wouldn't work, not really.

"You.... you said...."

"I said I would stop," Nightmare said in a conversational tone. "Never said how or when."

Sci closed his eyes.  
"Just kill me. Please."

Nightmare's sadistic smile widened, and he motioned to Horror, who brought out a small, leather box. A dust coffin for Monsters.

"As you wish."

Another blur of sharp black, and Sci collapsed to the floor from Nightmare's grip, crumbling into dust.

Nightmare stared at the dust for a few seconds, then turned to Horror. The other skeleton whipped around to his employer, lowkey nervousness leaking out of his posture.

"Package the dust," the black, tarry skeleton ordered sharply, opening a portal back to the hideout. "Then tell the others to wrap up the AU. Make sure no one survives."

Before he stepped through the portal he had made, Nighmare extended a tentacle towards the control panel for the video feed, pressing a few buttons.  
His tendril hovered over a button that read EJECT for a moment.

_~~~~~~~~~~_  
whirrrr  
~~~~~~~~~~ 

The tape went dark.

_~~~~~~~~~~_  
whirrr  
~~~~~~~~~~ 

Ink closed his eyelights, trying to shut out the monstrosity that he had just seen, that he had just heard, from his mind. The Monsters' pained screams, the destruction, the deaths. His mind was racing.

_All this to exact revenge? All this because of something that I did?_

Tears began forming in the colorful, bedridden skeleton's eyes.

Science!Tale was gone. Forever.  
All the happy endings in all the AUs.  
All gone.  
Everyone _dead._

All because of the potion, because of the plan, the plan that should've worked but didn't.

The tears that had threatened to overflow finally did so, broken sobs coming out of his mouth as his mind replayed everything, over and over. All the innocent deaths, all the suffering, just to prove a point to him.

Sci was dead, his Origial AU was dead. All the AUs stemming off of Science!Tale were gone without a trace.  
Maybe Error was finally happy now.

Even Ink's addled mind couldn't believe that. Error would never be satisfied until all the AUs were gone, all the "anomalies" were dead. An empty space, devoid of all life and matter.

And now that he had probably figured out that destroying an Original, a Prime AU, would delete all of its copies....  
It might not be long until Error finally had his wish, then.

And if this was what happened to Sci, what would happen to Dream? Someone whom Nightmare hated and had at his mercy?

_This is all my fault...!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am honestly regretting making my username so long. My device/computer refuses to save my user and PitchBlackWings for some reason never comes out spelled correctly the first few times i try to type it in the 'sign-in' box...
> 
> UP NEXT we will finally have it!  
> The moment you've all been waiting for!  
> Interaction between Error and Nightmare! *le gasp~*
> 
> JUST A HEADS UP: I will NOT be updating for a few weeks. I'm going on vacation, and my beloved computer must stay at home and guard the house. So i can't write while i'm gone. Sorry about that, guys! 3:
> 
> See you next chapter (whenever it is finished)!  
> -PitchBlackWings


	17. Family Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...How is Error coping...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know about half of y'all have been like, "Wait i see this Errormare ship tag but i don't see Error anywhere here...."  
> WELL WAIT NO LONGER MY FAITHFUL READERS
> 
> A little treat for y'all waiting so patiently for me to get back to my computer to write comfortably! :3 I am BACCCCKK
> 
> Hope you all had a happy Halloween for those of you who celebrate it! Discount candy by the ton~
> 
> And finally an explination as to why Error's voice is not glitchy:  
> It  
> takes  
> forever
> 
> It seriously takes so long to write and aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i do not enjoy constantly pressing my shift key randomly. Error's voice still sounds glitchy, but unless it's a short fic or a oneshot, i'm probably not going to write out the glitch in his voice.
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

Error was sitting on his rocking chair, knitting a scarf with slightly shaking hands.  
He counted the stitches carefully, trying not to ruin the nice gold and blue fabric. One... two... count four times for double stitch...

Someone entered the room, and Error jolted, tangling his stitchwork as his hands shook. His eyelights jerked to the figure walking inside.

Cross blinked guiltily as he saw how scared Error was.  
"Sorry, Error," he said, backing away slightly. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Error calmed his shaking phalanges slightly. "It's not y-your fault, C-Cross. I'm on edge after w-what happened earlier..."  
He squeezed his eyesockets shut, trying to take calming breaths. Inhaling, then exhaling, focusing on each nonexistent muscle working to provide him with oxygen. He unconciously rubbed small scars on his wrists- evidence of last time Nightmare had been displeased with him.

He had tried to fight back.

It didn't work.

Error reopened his eyes in about a minute, calm enough to talk once more. He hated those panic attacks, and trying to relax afterwards was awful.  
"Did- do you need anything?"

Cross looked down. "Um. Dad- I mean Nightmare- wants you in his office," he said softly, his eyes apologetic when he managed to make contact with Error's eyelights.

Error's skull turned slightly blanched before he regained control. That wasn't a good thing. That was never a good thing.  
He swallowed. "Now?"

"Yes," Cross said, his voice quiet.

Error took a few deep breaths before standing up. Waiting longer was only going to make Nightmare annoyed, which would make everything worse for him.

"Thanks for telling me, Cross," he whispered, forming a portal to directly outside of the Guardian of Negativity's office room and stepping through on subtly shaking legs.

Error inhaled sharply, forcing himself to knock on the door, giving three sharp raps.  
There was no answer.

Maybe he's not here, Error thought hopefully. Maybe he's gone to do something to Dream or- or take care of an AU, or something-

"Come in."

A cold voice came clearly through the door, making Error wince slightly. He turned the doorknob and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

Nightmare was sitting at his desk, putting some papers into a black folder. S.S. Destruction...

"Do you know why I called you here, Error?"  
His voice was unnaturally emotionless, betraying no emotion whatsoever. Nightmare used to never sound like that.  
But that tone... that was his normal tone nowadays.

Error quickly racked his memory, but with his Soul beating rapidly, he couldn't think of anything. "...No?"

Nightmare narrowed his eye- a bad sign.  
"I told you to destroy that Kinder AU, Error. You didn't. I want an explination."

Error froze, his memory coming back. He cursed his mental capibilities. That was two weeks ago. He thought Nightmare hadn't noticed...

**"Now, Error."**

"I- I just- th-they were just kids, Nightmare, they couldn't hurt anyone or-or even fight back! I-I destroyed five extra AUs to make up for it-"

A thick tendril whipped out from behind Nightmare's back to wrap around Error's throat, choking him. Error's phalanges whipped to his neck, trying to tear at the corruption stopping his air and magic flow painfully and threatening to fracture his spine.

"So, you destroyed the AUs you wanted to destroy. Disobeying me."

Error began to tear more frantically at the tentacle as his magic flow began to dwindle, his eyelights flickering from the pain. "I-It's not like tha-!"

Four more tentacles struck at Error from Nightmare's back like enraged snakes, clenching around his arms and legs painfully at the wrists and ankles.  
"Then _explain_."

Error could not explain. His voice was rasped, and his breath was stolen by the tentacle still wrapped around his neck. Even if he could speak, what could he say? He had destroyed other AUs because he didn't want to kill a bunch of kids who didn't do anything to him or anyone else. Nightmare's point was valid.

"No?"

The tentacles tightened at the spoken word by the corrupted skeleton, sending dull waves of pain through Error's bones.  
"Well then. It seems as if you didn't learn your lesson last time." Nightmare stared coldly at the suspended form above him, struggling in his grip.

**"I suppose I'll have to teach you again, then."**

\--------

Cross had gathered as many medical supplies as possible when he had heard the first glitched, bone-chilling scream. It hurt him to no end that there was nothing he could do, but he couldn't interfere- if he did, he might get hurt as well, or even dusted.

It didn't stop his Soul from aching painfully with cold when the screams continued, only to be cruelly cut off.

Cross hurried to bring all the medical supplies to the table in Error's room, waiting anxiously for any sign of Error or one of his other family members. Killer, Dust and Horror were on a mission, and Fresh had been forced to come by Nightmare.

"You need to learn how to pull your weight around here, or it's not worth keeping you around. Start working with the others, or you can join Dream in the prison rooms."

Chills ran down Cross's spine as he recalled Nightmare's command. The others weren't forcing Fresh to kill, only staging things- nothing would happen to Fresh while they were there to stop it. Family helped family.

Nightmare had forgotten that rule entirely.  
**"Kill or be killed."**

The small white skeleton clenched his phalanges into fists, fighting tears. What had happened to the Nightmare he had known? The one who would die for his gang? The one who considered them as family and valued their lives above his own? The one who loved them all?

The one who was engaged to Error?

There was a clattering crash from downstairs, jolting Cross from his thoughts.  
Error!

He teleported downstairs, steeling himself for what he might see.

He wasn't prepared enough.

Error was crumpled on the couch, his wrists and ankles cracked at painful angles. His vertebrae had tiny hairline fractures running all along the side, spreading little spiderwebs of cracks all down the bone.

And his skull was missing a chip of bone at the edge of the eyesocket.

Cross recovered quickly and grabbed Error, wincing as his bones creaked strangely. He teleported them both to the glitch's room, laying Error gently on the bed and turning to the medical supplies.

Cross rustled urgently through the bag, grabbing a large jar of healing gel and turning back to Error, pulling a wooden chair close to the bed so he could work more comfortably.  
The small skeleton began to rub the healing gel along the edge of the fractured bones to make the setting less painful, spreading the cool, thick substance along Error's form.

Cross reached into the bag for a roll of bandages, slowly coaxing Error's broken radius and tibias back into place before wrappingg them in the sterile white cloth. He added more healing gel in the areas around the fractures, switching between the gel and bandages.

_There's still something wrong. His HP is still too low..._

Cross carefully formed a small knife in his hand, reaching down to cut away Error's shirt. He had hoped he wouldn't have to do this- Error hated being touched at all, and Cross always tried to respect that. It was an unspoken rule that Error only let Nightmare do things like this whenever the God of Destruction was injured.  
But there was no helping it now.

Cross cursed silently when he finished cutting away the unconcious glitch's shirt, looking at the damage as he tossed the mangled remains of the fabric across the room.  
Error's ribs were fractured badly, the bones surrounded with some sort of viscous ooze- Nightmare's corruption, Cross recognized grimly. That couldn't be good for marrow...

The small skeleton picked up a clean cloth from the medical kit, dipping it in some water infused with healing magic that he had prepared on the dresser next to the bed. Cross carefully wiped the ooze away, making sure to get every drop out of the cracks with painstaking precision.

After about twenty minutes of wiping (some of the corruption was stubborn or partially solid and stuck to the bone), Cross finally applied a last layer of healing gel to Error's ribs and wrapped them individually with just about the last of the bandages. There wasn't much more he could do now. Cross couldn't work healing magic very well- not much more than a sliver. If he tried to heal Error, he might just end up waking him up out of his semi-coma to a world of pain. That would just make things worse...

All he could do now was clean up and wait.

-  
\--  
-

__

Nightmare and Error were sitting below Nightmare's tree- the place he always went whenever he was feeling intense emotion. There was a beautiful meteor shower tonight, and they had a perfect view of the night sky.

The two monsters were looking at the stars from the unobstructed view above them.

"They're beautiful, Mare," Error whispered, staring in awe at the twinkling lights in the sky of the AU.

Nightmare smiled down at him. He had planned everything perfectly so far. This meteor shower was the only one of its kind in two years, and he was happy to share this special moment with his datemate. In Nightmare's eyes, Error was the most stunning thing in this AU. "I'm glad you like them, Ruru."

The tentacled skeleton reached into a pocket as Error snuggled next to him, fingering a small object hidden inside. He watched as Error watched the brilliant meteor shower, his eyelights sparkling. He loved that look in his eyes- the smile, the relaxed posture. It was worth every moment of planning.

And Nightmare wasn't going to put it to waste. He was finally going to do it this time. No backing out like a coward. Now or never. And never was not an option.

Nightmare inhaled and exhaled slowly, steeling himself and preparing his emotions for the coming moments. He turned to his datemate, making eye contact easily.

"...Error?"

The skeleton in question stared at Nightmare questioningly. "Yeah?"

"You know I love you, right?"

Error nodded, staring into his datemate's eyes. "Of course, Mare. I love you too."

"Then can I ask you a question?"

Error shrugged, not seeing the harm. "Sure?"

Nightmare brought a closed fist out of his pocket.  
"We've been together for a long time, right?"

Error nodded, not sure where his datemate was going with this.

"And I still couldn't do it. For the longest time, every time we went out, I would always think, 'not today. I'll do it tomorrow.' But I never did."

Error was even more lost now. "Did what, Mare?"

"I want to secure our love. Once and for all." Nightmare took a deep breath, turning towards Error where the glitchy skeleton sat on the mossy carpet on the ground. He slowly uncurled his fingers, revealing a small white box in his left hand.

Error blinked. What was that?

The Guardian of Negativity slowly opened the box with his other hand, revealing a golden ring with a shining diamond in the middle. His face was almost completely blue by now, his Soul racing, but he couldn't back out now.

"Error... will you marry me?"

Error's face went slack with confusion for a second before his eyes widened with realization. He brought his hands to his mouth, staring in disbelief at the ring Nightmare was holding. His eyelights began to water slightly.

Nightmare noticed it. "Error, I'm so sorry if I'm taking this too fast-"

"YES!!"

The goopy skeleton stared at Error, eyelight brightening as he tried to wrap his mind around what Error had just said.

"You big j-jerk!! Why did you wait so long?!" Error half lunged, half scooted into Nightmare's arms, hugging him tightly. "We've been together for years!"

Nightmare hugged Error back, his Soul beating rapidly with happiness. Error had said yes. He had accepted. They were engaged...

"I love you, Ruru," Nightmare mumbled, half burying his face into Error's shoulder as tears of joy formed in his eyesockets.

"I love you too, Mare," Error replied, his Soul beating in perfect sync with Nightmare's as they embraced each other.

-  
\--  
-

Error lay on the bed, not getting worse, but not getting a whole lot better, either. His entire form was covered in scrapes, healing gel and bandages, most of them there because of recent injuries from Nightmare.  
On his left hand, the ring phalange, was a still brightly shining, almost brand-new ring, fresh, flour-like dust obscuring some of the beauty.

Error rolled over fitfully in his sleep, wincing in pain as he did so. He still didn't wake up, however- his body forcing him to stay asleep so he could heal.  
The ring rolled off of the Destroyer's finger and to the foot of Cross's chair, where the other skeleeton was sitting, reading a book and hoping that Error would wake up. He looked down as the ring bumped into the toe of his boot.

As gently as possible, Cross replaced the ring on Error's finger, picking it up and carefully sliding it back into place. He sighed remorsefully as he stared at it.

...  
Why couldn't things go back to normal?

-  
\--  
-

In Nightmare's study, the dark Guardian of Negativity was runnning some sort of test about the Souls he had taken from OuterTale through his computer system when he noticed a glimmer of bright yellow and white on his finger.  
He yanked at the finger, surprised to see a ring resting on it, mostly hidden by the ooze flowing along his bones.

Why did he even have this anymore? There was no use for it. It was simply going to get in the way.

Nightmare slipped the ring off of his finger and tossed it into a dark corner of his study, rolling his eyes as the ring bounced and skid underneath the bookshelf. Honestly, the ridicoulous things he had done earlier.. There was no point in having a relationship with subordiantes. It would just make them entitled and annoying, something he would have to break them out of if they were to be of any use to him.

The skeleton turned back to the computer he was typing on, the ring clattering in a circle before resting underneath the bookshelf, a glimmering circle in a sea of dust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3 Have some bittersweetness to end this long(ish) chapter!  
> How is it humanly possible to be able to give this a happy ending? I don't know...
> 
> It's (mostly) Angst!Chara's fault blame them not me XD  
> 
> 
> Also Killer is not the only Good Boy, Cross is also a Good Boy, and no one will tell me otherwise. They both deserve hugs and cuddles, the poor babus
> 
> Sorry about the wait for the chapter! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to place them in the comments below! I don't bite. (unless you're a chocolate. In that case run for your life...
> 
> Next update will be whenever i guess bc my schedule is wack rn... Hopefully not as long a wait as before! ^w^'  
> -Pitch


	18. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for the Dark Sanses, these are desperate times indeed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for another chapter!  
> Sorry about the wait. have another long chappy instead! ^w^  
> 
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

All the Dark Sanses (minus Nightmare) were inside Error's room. The others had come back from their mission and had been filled in on what had happened recently to Error. All eyes were on the heavily injured Destroyer.

Error wasn't doing too well. Most of his body was coverered in bandages, and still-healing fractures lined the exposed bone. He had regained conciousness only ten minutes prior to this "emergency meeting".

"How are you doing, Error?" Fresh asked quietly, looking shaken and scared.

"I'm fine, Fresh, or I will be," The glitchy skeleton tried to assure him. "Are you okay, though?"  
The fresh, colorful skeleton looked like he had just seen a ghost...

Fresh hung his head.  
"Dad- I mean, Nightmare- forced me to help with everything," Fresh said, his voice barely a whisper. "I... I had to... to actually dust a kid... They b-begged me not to... and I..."  
The skeleton clenched his fists together, tears welling in the corners of his eyesockets as he battled for control over his emotions.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Fresh!" Killer said, his voice soothing. "That wasn't your fault. You saved that kid from a painful death in the void over days. This isn't your fault, or Nightmare's fault, even. It's Inky's fault for making that [dang] potion! You got that?"

Fresh wiped his nose. "...No cursing..."

"We'll see," Killer responded noncommittedly.

Error coughed, and all attention turned onto him in an instant.  
"Let's adress the elephant in the room, shall we?"

He closed his eyelights, a pained look on his face.

"What are we going to do about Nightmare?"

Horror looked down. “Are we sure that we CAN do anything about this? I mean, think about it. Nightmare is super strong, he proved that in the battle against Inky and Dream.”

“But we had already weakened them,” Cross objected.

“Sure,” Horror said, “but that doesn't change the fact that he still destroyed both of them. Like, _destroyed_ them. With almost no effort and no sustained injuries. We can't match his power level right now."

Cross frowned. Horror was right.

"Hey…"  
Fresh spoke softly, unsure of himself. "Do ya think that maybe... maybe Ink has a cure?"

"What?" Error wasn't quite following.

"I mean, he and Sci made the potion. Do ya think that they could make a cure?"

Everyone blinked.  
"You..." Killer said quietly, mind racing. "You might have an idea there, Fresh... even with Sci's AU being completely erased, Ink might still have a way to make the cure with his stupid Creator powers..."

Dust narrowed his eyes in thought. "But how are we supposed to get close enough to ask him? Even if we have a common .....enemy... now, everyone still hates us. And without Nightmare to back up our butts, we might be screwed."

"Then we use Dream," Error burst out in a spurt of inspiration. Everyone turned to look at him.

"We explain everything to Dream and let him out, on the conditions that he brings us to Ink and helps us obtain an antidote," Error explained. "It might work."

"But won't Nightmare realize Dream is gone and come after us once we return to the hideout?" Cross said quietly.

"Then we don't go back," Horror said slowly, catching on. "We stay with the Star Sanses or something until we get the cure, then use ourselves as bait to draw Nightmare out so we can get the antidote on him."

"We can use Dream as a bargaining chip if necessary, plus the fact that we would know the location of their base," Killer said, finally getting excited.

Fresh looked down.  
"We have a bit of a problem, though. How are we supposed to get Dream and Error over there? they both have serious injuries, and if Ink and the other Sanses decide to attack us..." He let his voice trail off slowly. He didn't need to finish that sentence.

"We'll use Dream," Error said confidently. "They won't attack us if they know we could hurt Dream more than he already is. We just need enough time to explain everything, and then we won't need Dream as a shield. Worst case scenario, if they attack us, one of us could teleport away and tell Nightmare, so the Star Sanses probably won't try anything in the first place. They're not _that_ stupid."

Cross looked at Error's wounds with concern.  
"It's not just that. How are we supposed to move you? You're barely in a stable condition..."

"Simple. I'll teleport there," Error said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'll go to the Anti-Void first to watch you all through a one-way portal. If you manage to secure a deal, I'll shortcut through."

"Now all we need is the timing," Dust said, brow furrowed in thought. "We should probably go when Nightmare is out of the castle, right?"

Killer nodded. "Once Nightmare leaves again, we can grab Dream and leave. Error teleports to the middle of nowhere in the Anti-Void, and we find the Star Sanses. If everything goes as planned, we should be home free, metaphorically speaking of course."

"It all sounds good in theory, but what if something goes wrong?" Fresh said, worry showing in his eyelights. "If you guys got hurt and Nightmare wasn't there to help us, or worse, you got in trouble with him..."

Horror patted the small skeleton's shoulder reassuringly. "We'll just have to make sure nothing goes wrong then, Fresh. There's no alternative."

Error smiled tiredly.  
"Sounds great. That's about as good a plan we'll get for this scenario."

Cross looked at Error, noticing his weary expression and deciding to be merciful.  
"Come on, guys," he said softly, turning to leave. "Error needs to rest so that he can heal. He'll need all the health he can regenerate."

Error suppressed a sigh of relief as the gang left the room, closing his eyes. He would be lying if he said he wasn't absolutely exhausted. His body was working overtime to heal him, making him need more rest so that his energy levels didn't deplete dangerously.

The glitchy skeleton slowly drifted off to sleep.

-  
\--  
\---  
\--  
-

Dream was sitting in his cell, curled up in a corner as usual.

What was taking Killer so long? Usually by this time, the Dark Sans had brought Dream food and helped heal him with magic.

Had he been caught?

Dream hoped Killer hadn't been found out by Nightmare. He had been Dream's lifeline during his imprisonment here- giving him food and water and healing, and sometimes just someone to talk to. If Killer hadn't helped him, Dream would be dead by now, no doubts about it. If he was hurt because he had helped Dream...  
Guilt ran through the tattered skeleton's Soul, dull and cold. _Please, let Killer be all right..._

The light flashed on.

Dream gasped with relief. Nightmare didn't turn on the light when he came to 'visit' before- so it was Killer. He was okay, thank the Stars.  
A portal opened in the middle of the room, and Dream looked at it expectantly.

His eyelight shrunk as not one, but _five_ skeletons stepped through the portal and into the cell before the swirling window into the Void vanished.

Killer was at the front, holding his hands out placatingly. Dust, Horror and Cross hung back at the other end of the obsidian room. Fresh seemed to be hiding behind them. Strange. _Why would a Soul-eating Monster like Fresh hide? What does he have to fear from me?_

"Hey, Dream, it's okay. They're with me," Killer said soothingly. "Relax."

Dream shook slightly. Was this a trap? Had Killer gained his trust only to use it against him?  
"Wh...why are you here...?"  
The small, injured skeleton's voice rasped, barely above a whisper in volume.

Killer's expression turned dark.  
"Nightmare's out of control," He explained grimly. "He hurt all of us in some way or the other, Error the most. Ruru's stuck in bed healing. Nightmare broke most of his bones, almost no effort at all."

Dream's expression twitched. _Ruru? They call Error, the feared God of Destruction... Ruru??_

"We can't go on like this," Cross said quietly. "One day soon, Nightmare is going to lose patience over something miniscule and dust one of us for it."

Dream's expression was worried, to say the least. If Nightmare was that dangerous to his allies, what would become of his enemies? Ink may not have been at the top of his "favorite people" list currently, but Dream didn't want anything really bad to happen to him....  
"Why are you telling me this? What am I supposed t-to do about it?"

Killer held up a hand. "We want to make a deal."

Dream narrowed his eyes. Injured though he may be, he wasn't stupid. "What... what kind of deal?"

"We'd get you out of here," Horror said, speaking for the first time. Dream's eyelights ran over the intimidating skeleton's figure, searching for any signs of agression that would warn of an incoming attack. "We would get you to the Star Sanses. In return, you would bring us to your 'top-secret base' and convince the Star Sanses to let us stay with them so we can figure out how to get Nightmare back to normal."

Dream frowned. "They'd never agree to that."

"Then we'll tell them that we know the location of their base," Dust pointed out. "If they kicked us out or tried to fight us, we could get Nightmare. He'd destroy them all, and I think they know that. Besides, we could also just kidnap you again, right?"

The small skeleton with golden eyelights stared at the four Monsters nearby.  
"What about Error? You said he's too injured to walk, right?"

"He'll teleport to the Anti-Void," Killer said with absolute confidence. "He'll watch us through a one-way portal window. Once we secure the deal for our mutual safety, he'll teleport to us so we can find a place for him to rest."

Dream was impressed. The Dark Sanses had thought every detail through, from what he had heard. And it was his best chance for freedom. If Nightmare really had gotten as bad as they said, what was preventing him from taking his emotions in their next "visit" and making him an empty shell? At least this way he had a chance to survive...

"A-all right. I'll do it."

"Great!" Cross was the one to speak up this time. Relief was evident on his skull. "I'm the best at healing, so i'll try to fix you up a bit before we leave, okay?"

Dream nodded, a bit confused by the other's enthusianm, resisting the urge to scramble away as the other skeleton crouched down and placed his fingertips on Dream's bones.  
The Guardian of Posisivity shuddered as he felt a wave of freezing energy coursing through him. It shocked him, and it was extremely uncomfortable, like jumping into an icy shower. It took all his willpower not to try to push Cross off of him.  
_He's healing me. This is necessary._

It took about five minutes of bone-jarring ice seeping through Dream's veins before Cross finally stepped away, looking down at Dream, concerned.  
"That's the best i could do..." his voice wavered slightly.  
"Nightmare could've done so much better. I miss him......."

Horror placed his hand on Cross's shoulder comfortingly.  
"You did all you could, Cross. We all miss him, too."

Dream stared at them. What... what were they doing?  
They looked like they were _comforting_ each other. Like... like a normal family.

But that wasn't right, these were the _Dark Sanses_ , the menace of the Multiverse! They destroyed AUs every day before breakfast!

_But Killer... Killer's a Dark Sans too, and he helped me just as much as Outer or Blue or... or Ink would have, in the same position. Killer kept me alive even though he didn't need to._

_Could... we have been wrong about them?_

Dream stood up shakily, pushing those confusing thoughts to the back of his mind.  
"I'm fine," He said stiffly. "Much better than before, and that's all that matters."

Horror nodded in acknowledgement. "Are you ready to go?"

The Guardian of Positivity inhaled deeply. Was he ready to risk the further wrath of Nightmare? Was he ready to place his future and, quite possibly, his life, in the hands of five- _six, including Error_ \- Multiverse-renowned murderers? Was he ready to risk everything- the safety of the Star Sanses' base, the safety of his friends- on the chance that this wasn't a trick, that this would really get him out of here and free, with extra allies in the fight against Nightmare?

"As ready as i'll ever be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY DREAM IS FREE!!! NO MORE FESTERING INJURIES!!!! NO MORE TORTURE!!!
> 
> Now it's time to let you all fantasize on how i'm going to ruin this and make it sadder and everyone worse off than before. :3 Have fun!! You're welcome~
> 
>   
> TIME FOR YOUR CHAPTER HEADCANNON!  
> Nightmare can absorb the negative emotions of others. I assume you all know that.  
> Well, in this Multiverse, if Nightmare has direct access to a Soul, he can drain ALL of the emotions from it, essentially leaving behind an empty husk to do with as he pleases. It takes about 1-2 minutes of saturation to take effect.  
> He doesn't practice this much because a.) it's hard to get to a Soul when fighting and it's much easier just to kill the Monster if he's that close, and b.) because the mindless slaves are exactly that. They aren't fast, they aren't intelligent. It's like having a zombie servant but without the ability to recruit new zombies by biting people.
> 
> If you liked it, drop me a kudos or even a comment! I love comments ^w^
> 
> Until next time i have time to post,  
> -Pitch


	19. Doodle Sphere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some things are revealed about Ink's frivolous nature when it comes to the AUs he creates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! A bit of a break for all of you~  
> 
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader and Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

_"As ready as i'll ever be."_

Dream wasn't quite sure how exactly the Dark Sanses were planning on getting him out of the cell he was trapped inside. After all, Light and Positivity Magic didn't work here. Nightmare had drilled that pretty firmly into his fractured skull.  
He was maybe expecting a hole being drilled through the stone, maybe dynamite or something, since he couldn't magic his way out of here.

He was not expecting... _this_.

_"Bleurghhhh...."_

Killer helped Dream up from his prone position, watching with a slightly worried expression as the other skeleton swayed on his feet. "I-I feel... horrible..."

"Uh... oh wow..." Horror stared at the small Monster as Dream bent over, hands on his knees, eyes clenched shut. "...You okay?"

Dream took a few deep breaths to try to ground himself.  
"That was awful. I feel like I'm about to throw up..."

Cross placed a hand on Dream's shoulder, more chilly healing magic flowing from the tips of his phalanges. It came out in small trickles, not a flood of cold like before.

"Sorry, but I can't do any more," Cross replied with guarded reluctancy. "I need my magic in case your friends try something."

Dream frowned. "With good reason. Or do you not remember Sci's AU?"

Killer stepped in front of Cross, sockets narrowed.  
"That wasn't us. That was... whatever Nightmare is now. And Ink is the reason Nightmare is like that. If you want to blame someone, blame your friend. Credit where credit is due."

He hauled Dream roughly to his feet. "Focus. We need to get to the Doodle Sphere. We don't have a lot of time. When Nightmare realizes you're gone..."

Dream blanched slightly when he thought about what that might entail. His brother was probably not going to be gone for long. If they wasted time, then he might catch them before they reached the relative safety of the Doodle Sphere's encrypted AU.  
"R-Right."

He reached out for his magic, wincing internally when he realized how much damage being in such a negative environment for an extended period of time had done. He barely had a basic magic pool at the moment.  
Dream took a deep breath, clenching his hands together tightly as he focused his energy on opening a portal through the Void.

After a few seconds, a wavering, golden portal shimmered into existence, swirls of silver and yellow intertwining the rim.

"Hurry!" he breathed, trying not to let go of the weak grasp he had on his slippery magic. "I can't hold it open for long!"

The Dark Sanses showed no hesitattion, running through the portal. Dust swerved slightly to grab Dream and sling him over his shoulder before leaping through the swirl of stars and colors.

-  
\--  
-

Dream opened his eyes, eyelights wavering slightly. Two trips through the Void in a row was not fun. Had it always been that cold?  
He forced the world to come into focus when he felt something shaking him.

"Wake up, dude. We're here, i think."  
"Is he still asleep? I hope he hasn't Fallen Down, we need him."  
"Of course we need the idiot, we can't dust him. He's fine, anyway, look at his HP."  
"Yeah, it's stable. We can't go back now anyway, if Nightmare didn't kill us Error would."  
"His DF STAT is rising, guys."

Silence was prominent after the clamour of voices as Dream shook his head slightly, trying to get rid of the blurry lights and shapes intruding on his vision. "D-did we make it?"  
"See for yourself," Killer snorted, crossing his arms. "You'd know better than either of us, wouldn't you?"

Dream blinked, eyelights taking in his surroundings.

The ground was covered in a soft carpet of perfectly shaped green blades of grass, mostly flat with a few rolling hills in the distance. Buttercups and poppies sprinkled the grass, petals bright and colorful against the soothing Forest Green background.

When Dream tilted his skull upwards, he saw a golden sky, dots of color scattered among it. On closer inspection, the nearest colors were actually small notebooks, their covers painted with swirls of different shades. Tilted open, some of the notebooks revealed line upon line of writing and sketches, obviously with great care. The books exhuded a soft golden glow.

The vast majority of the books were completely grey, their covers only showing a black number. **546\. 8346. 143754. 37.** Their pages were mostly empty, with only the first page filled in with a single sketch and a few sentences of writing.

"This is definitely the Doodle Sphere," Dream affirmed, already beginnning to feel better being in a more positive AU. "The colorful books are original AUs that Ink made. The grey ones are copies."

Fresh inhaled sharply, staring at the huge amount of books, mostly copies. "I heard Error say over and over that there are too many copies of AUs, but... _this many_...."

"It's obscene," Horror growled out, disgusted. "There are so many... nobody needs all of them..."

"How dare he?" Dust choked out, his rage evident in his posture and the hiss of his voice. "How **dare** he?"

"The truce," Killer reminded them, gritting his teeth. He could see the murder in all of the Dark Sanses' eyelights, even Fresh's. He felt the anger of his family deep in his own Soul, and it rang in harmony with his own fury at Ink's frivolity. How could Ink call _Error_ insane when he made _so many copies???_ It made him want to shred all of the notebooks until only a few bright, colorful ones remained, just to teach the spoiled brat a lesson.  
But if he did that, they would have no chance to pursuade the Star Sanses to help them. And rejection at this point was _not_ an option.

Dream looked at the collection of Dark Sanses, worry and disbelief at their reaction evident on his face.  
"Why does it bother you and Error so much?" He said, his tone indignant. "There's always going to be more space. What does it matter if Ink makes copies? It's none of your buisness."

Killer's head snapped to stare at Dream, eyelights gone, forced smile now fierce and raging.  
_"Because there ISN'T ENOUGH SPACE."_

Dream blinked. "...What?"

"There is _not_ enough space. The Multiverse is limited. Ink is running out of space. So are we. The AUs will touch very soon if we don't act like we have been for the last few decades."

"So... what's the big deal? A few AUs touch, we run out of space, a nice full Multiverse. What's wrong with that?" Dream tilted his head, a scowl starting to form. They were being unreasonable.

_"Do you know what happens when two AUs touch, little Guardian?!"_

Never, in all of Dream's fights, had he seen Killer so angry. The other was staring him down, ferocity evident in his gaze and posture. He slowly shook his head to indicate that he didn't know. What was the harm of two AUs touching? Nothing happened, right? Ink would have told them.

"They _die._ "

Dream recoiled slightly at Killer's tone, looking into the other's face, eyesockets devoid of light. What? They.... die???

"If two AUs touch, they **burst** like two bubbles colliding. And they pop the surrounding AUs. And those AUs could pop the AUs surrounding _them_. A domino effect."

Dream brought a hand up to his mouth in horror. "So, if two AUs ran out of room and touched..."

Killer nodded grimly, backing away from Dream. "That would destroy more universes than you could imagine."

The skeleton went back to glaring at the notebooks above with disgust.  
"On top of that, Ink makes copies of terrible AUs. Places where everyone starves, where everyone dies, where everyone is in pain and agony. Isn't one place like that enough? Is it really any surprise why we _turned on him_? Wasn't he supposed to _protect_ us?"

Dream sputtered. "You- you're not being entirely fair, there are millions of AUs, he can't get to them all-"

"Then why make all of them to begin with, if he acts like such a child?! Tossing away his little **toys** as soon as he gets bored. Making them fight each other. Interested in what happens."

Dream curled up slightly from his sitting position on the ground. "T...that's not true..."

His words sounded hollow even to his own ears.  
...Did Ink really think of the AUs as just that? Only playtoys, to be enjoyed and then thrown aside?

Killer growled at him.  
"Then why are there 832 copies of Horrortale. 149 copies of Killertale. 1038 copies of Dusttale. Admit it. Ink only likes to copy our AUs to see us **suffer** , over and over again."

Dream looked down. He couldn't find the right words. Some of what Killer was saying had to be wrong, but... some of it...  
Why did some of it sound like the truth?

"Hey, guys?"

Cross's voice was wavering slightly as he pulled his eyelights away from the many, many notebooks floating freely in the sky.  
"We... we have to hurry. This is a conversation we can have later."

Killer nodded, yanking Dream to his feet. "Come on."

Dream nodded, walking towards the one place on the horizon devoid of the gentle hills and slopes, painfully aware of the Dark Sanses following him, and their furious emotions sending small shivers down his spine. That was where the Base was, if memory served.  
He hoped it did, after all that had happened recently. It would just be his luck that the Star Sanses moved bases without him knowing in his... absence.

The Guardian's mind was whirling, trying to process this information.  
_If two AUs touch, they could destroy hundreds, even thousands of AUs in an instant... that must be why Error destroys them, to make room? But that still doesn't explain why the Dark Sanses and Nightmare spread negativity even before Nightmare became... vicious after Ink used that_ stupid potion _on him... Why were they all so violent before then? Why couldn't they try to explain everything? For that matter, why didn't Ink explain everything? ...Ink must not have known, he woudl have told somebody about it, he would have told me. Ink doesn't like to see AUs in pain, he can't like it, there must be a logical explination for this, there has to be. He'd have told me if all of this was true. He liked me, he_ trusted _me, we were friends...  
...Right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys have you ever noticed how after a stressful Tuesday even the calendae says WTF? It's a sign, guys, it's a sign...
> 
> Kinda feeling :/ about how this little intermission turned out, but after trying to change it on Word twice and not liking those much either I just decided to let it be. At least it's an early-ish update? ^^'
> 
> See y'all next chapter! Dont be afraid to comment questions or, well, comments. They make my day~  
> -PitchBlackWings


	20. Apathetic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> apathetic  
> [ˌapəˈTHedik]
> 
> ADJECTIVE  
> showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys  
> 2100+ views  
> 205+ kudos
> 
> What
> 
> How even
> 
> For this feat of amazing splendor you get the Rare and Elusive Llamacat™
> 
> /\,,,/\  
> |'^w^|  
> |"""''"'|____|*|  
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> |_|"|_|"'|_|"|_|
> 
> Happy holidays for those of you that celebrate them! Updates might be a little slower because of events going on, so please bear with me.

Dream kept walking.

And walking.

And _walking._

It had seemed _ages_ since they had dropped into the AU. His legs felt like they were going to fall off at the knees any moment now.  
At least he was sure they were going in the right direction- he had found the little gravel path Blue had made for orientation on the never-ending grassy slopes of the Doodle Sphere. It went on for miles, though, and there was no telling how close or far away the base might be.

The toxic emotions of the skeletons behind him weren't helping.

Killer's negative emotions were the worst out of the five, although he certainly had competition. The tarry-eyed skeleton turned his head up to the notebook-cluttered sky every so often with a hate-filled snarl.  
It wasn't like Dream could blame him. After all...

_"there ISN'T ENOUGH ROOM."  
"Do you know what happens when two AUs touch, little Guardian?!"  
"They die."  
"They burst like two bubbles colliding."  
"A domino effect."_

_"It could destroy more universes than you could imagine."_

Dream shook his head weakly. He couldn't think like that. He didn't even know what to think at this point.  
Ink has an explination for all of this. That, or he didn't know. _We're not the bad guys here. We can fix this. It'll all be okay._

_Just.... we just have to get to him first._

-  
\--  
-

Dream breathed a harsh sigh of relief when he saw the Doodle Sphere finally come into view. It had certainly taken it's sweet time to make it's appearance... Almost there.

Killer's gaze hardened as he stared at the large house, looking very colorful and out of place on the meadows surrounding it. Was that the Star Sanses' base? Why didn't it have any defenses? Were they that certain nobody would find them, or just that stupid?  
...Knowing what Ink was like, it was probably the latter.

"Let me remind you of our little deal, Dream," Killer rasped, stopping the other with a firm hand on Dream's shoulder. His sharp fingertips- almost long enough to be called claws- were curled in slightly. Just enough to catch on the fabric of Dream's cape. Not curved in enough to tear through the bone underneath. Yet.  
"You take us there, secure us a deal to bring Nightmare back to normal, then ensure our safe return. Something goes awry, we teleport out of there and take our chances with Nightmare. I'm sure he'd love to know the location of the Doodle Sphere, where he could take out **all of his enemies at once.** "

Dream swallowed, staring back at Killer's eyesockets. It was like looking into a black void...  
He nodded sharply, not wanting to back away or anger the other skeleton. He didn't think he could escape as it was, and there was still the chance that the Dark Sanses could help them get rid of Nightmare.

Killer narrowed his eyes and released Dream, letting his fingertips just barely tear through the surface of Dream's cape, doing his best to make his voice as cold as possible. He couldn't afford to let Dream think that he could escape, even still. They needed this to work.  
"Lead on then, Guardian."

Dream nodded again, walking forwards with a slight tremour in his hands as he approached his home.

He could sort of understand why they were so mad now, though. It didn't help his circumstances whatsoever, but he got it now.

They had been persecuting- no, more than that, trying to kill the Dark Sanses and Error.... for something that wasn't their fault at all. They had probably saved _millions_ of lives... and had been repaid for their work with weapons aimed at their throats at every turn.

To have participated in those actions... Dream felt his Soul shrink slightly at the thought. _I hurt innocents. I tried to kill innocents. Innocents who were saving lives that we couldn't hope to..._

Sure, they might have stolen or hurt when it wasn't necessary, but... was that because they wanted to... or because Ink and the others had driven them to it?

There was no answer to that question that would make Dream feel any better.

-  
\--  
-

In only a minute or two (it was so hard to keep track of time here, as the sun never moved or set. Was there even a sun here, or was it just bright all the time, like the Anti-Void?) they had reached the door of the large house that served as the base for the Star Sanses. Dream hesitantly brought his hand up to knock on the door, looking back at the Dark Sanses.

Killer gave a short nod, and Dream rapped on the door three times, softly. He stepped back, taking a deep breath. He was so close to home. So close...

It was a few seconds before anything happened, then a faint voice could be heard from... upstairs, maybe?

"Hold on just a second, please!"

A flurry of footsteps, then the door opened with a small creak to reveal a slightly out-of-breath Blueberry.

"Red, you're a bit early, what happened with-"

The sentence was cut off when he saw exactly who was at the door. the small skeleton took a reflexive step back. "D-Dream? No, but- you were captured- everyone was looking for- how?" His sentence tapered off weakly, confusion evident on his face.

Dream ran forwards and hugged his friend, forgetting for a second why he was here. It didn't matter. Blueberry smelled like his namesake fruit and clean laundry and tacos and home.

_Blue... oh, Stars, i missed you so much..._

The other quickly regained his presence of mind, hugging back tightly.  
"Dream, you... you're here, you're actually here, how did you escape, what happened??"

Dream stepped back slightly, blinking away tears that threatened to form, as a cough sounded from behind him. "Um, actually..."

"We happened," Killer said, stepping forwards slightly. "Hello."

Blueberry stepped back, instantly forming bone attacks in his hands, although he knew his chances weren't good. Who was he kidding, it was him against four Dark Sanses and Fresh, his chances were nonexisent. But he sure as anything wasn't going to be taken without a fight... maybe if he shot a Gaster Blaster at Killer, then rushed at Fresh, he could buy enough time for Dream to escape...

_Wait. Did they just say... hello...?_

"What?" Blueberry asked, crouching down slightly, eyelights flickering from skeleton to skeleton. "Listen, Dream, just come inside, and-"

"Blue, they saved me," Dream said quietly, stepping forward and lowering his friend's hand, and with it the bone attack pointed at Horror. "I would have died alone in a cell long, long ago without Killer's help."

_Died? He would have died without_ Killer _helping him??_

"I think," the blue-clad skeleton said weakly, "I th-think... you'd better tell me everything..."

Dream nodded softly, gesturing awkwardly to the other skeletons waiting at the doorstep. "C...come on inside, I guess."

Killer led the way, invisible eyelights roaming every corner of the interior, searching for... he didn't know, booby traps, security cameras, hidden lazers, something.  
Were they really just that stupid? Did they seriously not have any defenses? Anyone could just come in here and take over the place, if they found the server.

Blueberry stopped inside the living room, gesturing weakly at the couches and chairs around the room and fireplace. "Have a seat? I-if you want?"

Killer sat down on the largest couch slowly, never taking his eyes off the two Star Sanses. Cross followed, along with the rest of the Dark Sanses. Fresh was directly in the middle, the most protected space. The colorful skeleton was glancing around nervously, refusing to make any eye contact. Horror placed a hand on his knee gently to try and reassure him.

Dream coughed, sitting down on a smaller loveseat opposite the large couch. He patted the cushhion beside him, inviting Blue to sit down. He looked at everyone, the tension in the air almost tangible.  
"So.... you want to know what happened?"

Blue stared at the other skeletons in the room, Killer especially. The Dark Sans had liquid Hate staining his skull in tear-shaped marks, and his eyesockets were devoid of any pupils. He was currently fingering a small pocketknife, staring at Dream and Blueberry.  
"Yes, please," Blue said, in almost a whisper. "Now?"

Dream inhaled, then began speaking in a small voice.

"So, Nightmare kidnapped me, blah blah blah. I'm at about 5% HP. I heal myself as much as i can, fall asleep, the works. Then, Killer comes into my cell."

Blue stared from Dream to the Dark Sanses, keeping track of both the story and his enimies. "And then...?"

"So then, Killer gives me food. Ya know, the stuff I need to be able to heal myself again," Dream continued. "He also warned me about Nightmare not being... _himself_ , and gives me some tips and stuff. And trust me, that was pretty much a lifesaver."

He frowned, trying to remember.  
"I was still hurt pretty bad, but nothing I couldn't recover from. After that, he came in a few times, giving me food and water and healing supplies and stuff. Sometimes just someone to talk to."

Dream glanced up for a second, meeting his friend's eye.  
"They aren't bad people, Blue."

Blue looked at Killer, confused. "He... did all that? But didn't they hurt you? You were _imprisoned_ , right? Didn't he torture you too?"

Dream looked down, eyelights dimming slightly as he remembered the events that took place during his imprisonment.

_Dream was curled in the corner of his stone cell, head propped against his knees. How long had he been in here? Days? Weeks? Did it even matter at this point?_

_At least it had been a while since his brother's 'visit'. He shuddered when he remembered the horrific events that occurred earlier in his imprisonment. The yellow Soul... crushed to death in his brother's tendrils... all he could do was watch as Nightmare destroyed the culmination of a child's entire being. it was horrifying._

_The shadows in a corner had unexplicably deepened when Dream looked up next. He cringed internally. Of course he had jinxed it. Nightmare..._

_He refused to give his brother the satifaction of seeing him cower, deciding to stand up and face the Guardian of Negativity as he materialized from the shadows._

_"Well, hello there, Dream," he said, his voice cool and calm, single blue eyelight almost blinding in the darkness . "I hope you're well?"_

_Dream stared at him, wary and ready to bolt in either direction to try and dodge an attack, for all the good it did him. He clenched his jaw, deciding not to respond._

_"Not going to answer me?"_

_A tentacle, sharp and deadly, coiled above Nightmare's head, pointing at Dream.  
"That's very, very rude..."_

_Dream started, bumping against the cold obsidian wall as he reflexively tried to step backwards. He took a deep, shaky breath, staring Nightmare down. He wasn't going to give in so easily. He could do this. He wasn't going to be an easy prisoner, kneeling over at the slightest push. He could be brave._

_"What... what are you going to do to me?"_

_Nightmare feigned surprise.  
"Why would you suppose that I'd hurt you, Dream? You are my brother, after all."_

_The Guardian of Positivity mustered as much of a glare as he could, keeping silent. He wasn't going to be baited._

_"Aaah, it's because of last time, isn't it?" Nightmare mused, leaning back against his tentacles, making himself a makeshift chair out of his own corruptive ooze. "Well, don't worry. I won't hurt you today, even if you don't tell me what I need to know."_

_Dream narrowed his eyes. "Good, because I wasn't going to tell you, anyway."  
Even if Nightmare decided to kill another Soul, wasn't an early, relatively painless death better than endless imprisonment? And both of those options were probably better than whatever Nightmare had planned._

_Nightmare sighed, resting his head in his palm, eyelight watching him with disinterest.  
"How unfortunate."_

_He snapped his phalanges, and a swirling, dripping, void-like portal opened up in the wall next to him. He waited, watching, as a figure stepped through the portal to the other side, shaking off the odd drop of corruption from his white bones._

_Dream stared at the newcomer, confusion increasing as he recognized the other Monster in the room. Killer? Why is he here?_

_"I don't have the time to wring answers out of you today, brother, no matter how much I wish I did, Dream," Nightmare sighed, inspecting his phalanges as Killer stepped fully into view. "That happy task will go to Killer."  
Killer stared at the wall in front of him, showing nothing in his posture or expression, staying completely neutral. In his hand was a newly-sharpened knife, handle clenched tightly in his hand._

_Dream jerked back again, shock and a bit of fear evident in his eyelights. "W-what??"_

_Killer's gaze met Dream's for just a fraction of a second, his mask breaking slightly. Emotions flooded through his gaze for a moment. Regret. Anger. Sympathy. Horror. Sorrow. Reluctance. And... grim acceptance. Nightmare slipped casually off of his tentacles, forming another portal and walking through it._

_"Killer, make sure he talks. And until he does... at least make sure he **screams.** "_

"Dream! _Dream!!_ "

The Guardian of Positivity jolted out of his thoughts, staring wide-eyed at Blue.

"Y-yeah, Blue, he did," he rasped, not meeting his friend's gaze. He was grateful for being shaken from his memories. "But he didn't want to. And he didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean, he didn't have a choice?" Blue demanded. "He did it, didn't he? Everyone always has a choice."

Dream shook his head softly. He didn't have the energy to get worked up anymore.  
"Yes, he could have refused. But then Nightmare would have killed him. And he would have made my life a deeper hellhole than it already was. And he wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to get me out of there. Is that what you would have preferred, Blue?"

Blue's eyelights shrunk.  
"N-no, of course not." His gaze turned reluctantly to the Dark Sanses. "....They really helped you? It wasn't an elaborate plan to... I dunno, kill us all?"

Dream shook his head, indicating a negative.

The small, blue-clad Sans exhaled harshly.  
"...Well, I suppose I owe you all an actual thank-you then. I don't understand any of it. This doesn't change what they've done in the past though, Dream. They've murdered people. tortured people. They don't have an explanation for all of that!"

Dream's eyelights brightened, slightly indignant on his new allies' behalf in spite of himself. "Yes, Blue, as a matter of fact they do!"

Blue crossed his arms. "What is it, then? What excuse could they possibly have?"

Killer's hands, which he had kept on his lap, clenched tightly. His features became visibly tense.

"There isn't enough space in the Multiverse!" Dream blurted, trying to intervene before the Dark Sanses could take offense. The last thing he needed was a fight to break out in the close confines of their base. "It wasn't their fault! If they hadn't destroyed worlds, the Multiverse would have run out of space!"

Blue stared at Dream uncomprehendingly. "What? Why is that a problem?"

Dream took a deep breath and tried to calm down.  
"What I mean is, if the Multiverse gets too crowded, the AUs could touch. If they did, it would destroy the AUs touched directly, and maybe even cause a domino effect on the other AUs. The Dark Sanses and Error have been saving lives, Blue. Their methods don't matter more than that. And even if they were violent and angry... wasn't that our fault for not listening to them?"

Blue's eyelights shrank, his gaze flickering uncertainly from Dream to the five skeletons on the couch opposite him. "...Is this true..?"

Horror nodded slowly. "Yes. But you never listened."

Blue covered his mouth with his gloved phalanges, eyelights completely vanishing.  
"But... but that means... oh Stars, this is... this is bad... what... why didn't..."

Suddenly, a loud, angry voice called out from upstairs.

**"Blue!!"**

Everyone's head turned towards the location of the voice. Ink had appeared at the top of the stairs, having shortcutted to the bottom of the staircase in his hurry.  
"Surely you don't believe their **lies** , Blue?!"

Blue and Dream both flinched backwards at the appearance of the artist. Dream was the first to recover, overcoming his emotional relief at seeing his friend to defuse the situation.

"T-they aren't telling lies, Ink!"

Ink sneered, his gaze turned onto the Dark Sanses, eyelights red and paintbrush in hand. "Dream, leopards don't change their spots. They've killed for ages. They haven't 'changed' now. You were kidnapped and brainwashed. Get away from them!" His anger was almost tangible in his protectiveness, manifesting acidic paint on the tip of his paintbrush.

"We didn't brainwash him," Killer growled, standing up, clenching a knife in his phalanges. His teeth gritted together furiously as he tried to keep a cool demeanor. "And we didn't come here to kill all of you, or to harm you, or to 'brainwash' you, either."

"Why did you even come here, then? To tell Nightmare where we are so he can finish us off?" Ink demanded, eyelights bright red with indignance.

"If only," Killer snarled angrily. "If I had known we'd be treated like this, I might have left Dream in his cell to rot."

Ink reached for his brush threateningly. "You would have left Dream to die?"

"If it meant the rest of us avoided being killed by you and yours, then yes! What did Dream ever do for us?!" Killer said, his voice raising, magic sparking slightly in his tar-dripping sockets. "He's not one of us! He hasn't protected our family or helped us in any way before now! Why should we die for him?!"

"Maybe because he actually does some good in the world!"

"If that's your definition of good, may Fate and Destiny help us from seeing your definition of evil!"

"I'm looking at it right now!"

"Wouldn't you just love it if that was the case!?"

_"No!"_ Dream rushed to stand in between the two skeletons snarling at each other from about five feet away, interrupting the glaring daggers being thrown. "They want this over with just as much as we do!" He stared desperately at Killer for affirmation.

Killer took a deep breath, held it for ten seconds, then exhaled harshly and nodded. _This isn't helping Nightmare. Or anyone. Stay cool. Don't play his games._

He replied in a toneless growl, keeping his reply short. "We only want Nightmare back to normal. No matter what, this has to stop."

"And why should we trust them, Dream? Surely you out of all of us can feel their ill intent. It's choking the air, for goodness' sake!" Ink crossed his arms,, eyes narrowed.

Dream frowned.  
_Don't get overwhelmed. Don't... just... he doesn't know. He's always been stubborn. We can work this out._

“Ink, they’re angry at us for a reason,” he said quietly. “A good one. They’ve been helping the Multiverse all along.”

Ink stared at Dream uncomprehendingly.  
“What? T-that’s impossible. They _destroy_ AUs, they don't help them. They killed so many people, Dream! Millions upon billions upon trillions if you count humans! How could that have been helping the Multiverse?!”

Dream inhaled and exhaled, relieved. So Ink really didn’t know about any of this. He was innocent. _We can fix all of this._

“The Multiverse has a limit, Ink. You kept creating stuff, and it filled up the space left. If those AUs had touched because there was too little space, they would have... popped. Been destroyed. And- and that could have set off a domino effect! Hundreds, thousands of AUs could have been wiped out, just like that!"

The Creator stared at Dream as he continued to speak.

"T-the Dark Sanses, Error especially were preventing that from happening, over and over, by destroying AUs. They kept the rest of the AUs safe."

Blueberry closed his eyelights as if in pain from the recent information. "We've been trying to kill them for ages... and they were actually helping us..."

Dream nodded. "If they weren't keeping the AUs from growing too close... Ink could technically be classified as a mass murderer. The Dark Sanses weren't in the wrong."

Ink looked at Dream, the tiniest bit of confusion in his gaze as he processed the information, his eyelights an impassive pair of grey triangles.

"……Yyyyeah.... And I care about this... why?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> betrayal  
> [bəˈtrāəl, bēˈtrāəl]
> 
> NOUN  
> the action of betraying one's country, a group, or a person; treachery.
> 
> "He had a deep sense of cold betrayal in his chest at the words spoken to him."
> 
> :3
> 
> I might make a little writing-prompt-drabble thing involving Nightmare's Gang for the holidays, something short and simple. What do you guys think? (obviously it would be pre-ALN unless you just want constant angst along with your comfort)


	21. Wait, you didn't know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink.
> 
> Ink, Ink, Ink.
> 
> You need help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone needs help here. Will I fix this mess or make it worse? LET'S PICK A BALL FROM THE VIRTUAL BINGO CAGE OF DOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
> 
> *Bingo cage begins rattling*
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx: Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings: Chapter Author

Dream's eyelights had vanished, and he stared incomprehensibly at his friend.

"What... what do you mean, 'so'?? That's hundreds of millions of trillions of lives on the line, Ink! Maybe even the entirety of the Multiverse at stake!"

Ink's frown deepened. He slipped his paintbrush onto his back, but still remained fully on guard.  
"I created them, Dream. I can do what I want."

Blue sputtered, disbelief prominent on his face. "Their lives matter just as much as yours and mine, Ink! What are you saying? Are you serious?!"

"Perfectly serious," Ink said, expression sober. "I thought you knew..."

"We didn't know!" Dream was on the edge of hysteria. "We had no idea! How were we supposed to know that you were the cause of this... this entire thing?!"

"Wait."  
Killer was still glaring at Ink, eyes narrowed. "If you know your actions could result in the destruction of trillions, how can you call us the bad guys here?"

Ink pointed at Killer.  
"You just kill, steal and destroy. It's painful. Sloppy. If two universes touched, it wouldn't kill the inhabitants. It would just erase their code. It wouldn't leave anything behind. Nice and neat."

"Does that hurt the inhabitants?" Horror demanded.

"I would imagine it hurts them dreadfully," Ink said, not seeing the problem. "However, it's all over like it never happened in about an hour. It's fine."

"No, Ink, it is not fine!!" Dream's eyesockets had tears in them. "Their lives matter! You can't keep doing this!"  
This... this all has to be a big mistake. A huge mistake. Ink...

"They're nothing but pieces of code," Ink snorted. "I don't get what the big deal is. I created them, I can do what I want."

He frowned as he looked closer at Dream. The usually bright and happy skeleton seemed shocked and miserable. And he wasn't in the best condition, either...

"We can talk about this later. Right now, I need to get you fixed up, Dream."  
The other Monster's HP was down by about a fourth of its normal capacity. Ink turned to the Dark Sanses. "You can go now."

The Dark Sanses' eyelights all shrank or vanished as one. So the gamble didn't pay off. They're still going to throw us to the wolves...

"What?!" Dream did his best to glare at Ink. "You can't just turn them away!"

"What would you suggest I do, then?"

"Help them! They can stay here, we have room! We can work everything out!" Dream's eyelights brightened slightly. "This is the chance we've been waiting for! They don't have to be our enemies anymore!"

"No. Absolutely not." Ink crossed his arms.

"Why not?!" Dream demanded. "Why are you being so stubborn?! Even I can see they're not the bad guys here! Why are you so against us helping them when they've been helping us all along?!"

"They're dangerous." He didn't budge.

"Please, Ink," Dream said, sagging into the couch. His previous exertion had worn him out, and his HP was slowly leaking, like water droplets running down a melting icicle. "Sci is dead. Sciencetale is gone. They could help! How many more of my friends have to die before you realize you can't do things on your own??"

Ink hesitated slightly. "...I don't want to put you in danger, Dream..."

"Killer saved my life, Ink!! Are you just going to kick out? Nowhere in the Multiverse is safe from Nightmare except here! Are you going to send them to their deaths? Is that what they deserve?"

"One good deed doesn't erase hundreds of evil ones," Ink said, tone firm. "I'm glad you're okay, but that doesn't change the fact that they're cold-marrowed murderers. This could all be a trick."

"You're one to talk," Fresh said quietly, a frown prominent on his face. "You were trying to engineer the death of hundreds of thousands of AUs. And don't sugarcoat it, because that's what it is. A slow, painful death."

"That certainly sounds more like a 'cold marrowed killer' than anything we ever did," Killer agreed, voice dry.

"Ink," Blueberry cut in, staring at his friend. "I... I still don't understand what you did, or what you're trying to do. But we can't just kick the Dark Sanses out of here. I... I believe them. We have to let them stay."

The Soulless monster glared from skeleton to skeleton.

"Fine," Ink replied huffily, clearly still angry. "I'll help you. You can stay here. But put a foot out of line, and you're dead."

"Same here," Killer said, hands clenched. "Hurt us without a reason, try to murder us, and we'll tell Nightmare about the Doodle Sphere without a second's hesitation. I can't risk the safety of my family any more than necessary."

Ink looked at Killer with guarded curiosity.  
"Your... family? But you aren't related at all. You may be friends, but you certainly aren't family," he said.

"Yeah, shows what you know," Dust growled softly. "Killer's just as much family to me as my Papyrus was."

"Which means very little, considering that you killed Papyrus simply for his LV," Ink shot back, scoffing. "He was just another piece of easy EXP to you."

Dust recoiled slightly, eyelights shrinking. It... it wasn't his fault! He hadn't killed Papy on purpose! It wasn't him... it was the LV coursing through his magic... he hadn't wanted to kill him...  
Killer placed a hand on Dust's shoulder before standing up stiffly.

"Say something like that again," He hissed, "and we'll leave. You won't talk to me or mine that way. You were the one that made Dust's world that way. You're in no place to judge."

Ink crossed his arms. "I'm in the perfect place to judge, because I made his AU," he snorted. "I know exactly how I programmed him to feel in that moment. He's a heartless monster."

Killer's right eyesocket began to glow with magic, smoke flowing from the void inside.  
"He is not. And you don't know anything about Dust. Or about any of my family."

Dust felt a bit of warmth in his Soul at Killer's words, but for the most part, he just felt... empty. Ink was right. When he had killed Papyrus, a bit of him had felt saddened and horrified... but at the same time, a part of him he couldn't control had felt... happy. Exultant. Powerful.

What did it matter if he dies? it whispered. He's going to die anyway. The kid is going to kill him anyway. This way he doesn't have to suffer, and we can use his EXP to destroy the kid. Stop all this from happening, Sans.

So he had killed Papyrus. Shot a bone attack through his Soul.  
He didn't realize that little voice was the start of his insanity.

"Again with this 'family' stuff," Ink scoffed. "They're no more your family than Blue is."

Killer's hand tightened on Dust's shoulder almost painfully, knocking the latter out of his thoughts.  
"Yes, they are. You wouldn't know. Being a Soulless being takes that away from you."

"Hhhh. If you say so," Ink said noncomittedly, rolling his eyelights. "Come on. The guest rooms are this way."

 _After all_ , he thought, _I can always move them out later._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL THE VIRTUAL BINGO BALL SAID SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN, SO HERE YOU ALL ARE!  
> Still don't really like making fillerish chapters and this one was no exception. It did NOT WANT TO WRITE ITSELF. Chara wasn't helping either...  
> 
> 
> And I have made that story I promised last chapter- it's called **Nightmare's Gang Random Ask Prompts**. A bit on the nose, I know. But it'll update a lot faster than this story, so if you want something to read in between updates, give it a try!
> 
> ALSO  
> Due to Family Matters, I won't be posting for.... i don't know, hopefully only two or so weeks while everything gets sorted out, but it might be more than that. Sorry! 3:  
> -PitchBlackWings


	22. Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink is being suspicious.
> 
> And a jerk, but that's normal for him. So mostly just suspicious.
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just looking at the kudos and reads and bookmarks on this thing like *surprised pikachu face*
> 
> Thank you, my readers, for inspiring me to continue this work. We're up to 22 chapters and over 40k words! That's gotta be some sort of weird milestone, right?
> 
> also MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, TAKE SOME HOLIDAY CHEER  
> BECAUSE WHY WOULDN'T THIS CHAPTER BE HAPPY

Ink was sitting on one of the rolling hills in the Doodle Sphere, just within sight of his base- the only irregularity existing on the endless expanse of the Doodle Sphere. His eyes were closed, his brush sitting on the grass beside him.

Today had been... stressful, to say the least. The Dark Sanses had insisted on a room to themselves, with every one of them sleeping in a tight formation, keeping someone awake at all times to make sure nobody tried anything. And then Error teleported inside out of nowhere, scaring the living (or nonexistent) Soul out of everyone. It had resulted in lots of loud screaming and several people wrapped up in string before explinations could be given.

After all that... he just needed to clear his head. So had Blue and Dream, the former going back to his home AU. Dream was inside of the base, presumably inside his room. Ink really didn't want to be within the same space as the Dark Sanses at the moment.

All he really wanted to do was take some time alone to calm his mind.

So it was a real shame that something else was already inside of it.

~~**Well?** ~~

Ink sighed harshly.  
_I thought we agreed you would leave me alone. You got the body last month for a few hours, it's my turn right now._

~~**That was until all of this happened.** ~~

The Creator opened his eyes wearily.

_What do you want?_

~~**You should have killed them.** ~~ ********

Ink frowned. _Dream likes them. He's been through enough lately. I'm not going to kill them right now._

~~**It's always "Dream this, Dream that". You're getting soft, Ink.** ~~

The skeleton's frown deepened.

_You know that's not true, Blank. You didn't come here just to insult me._

**~~Believe what you wish. Insulting you can be quite entertaining. There's not much else to do here, after all.~~ **

Ink waited a few seconds.

_What do you want? It's not your turn to use the body yet._

The voice sighed, dropping its pretenses.

~~**I know, I know. I create. You do the rest. But I needed to talk to you. About us.** ~~

Another pause. _I'm listening._

~~**You need to kill them soon.** ~~

_Why?_

~~**Isn't it perfectly clear? I knew I got most of the brains, Ink, but use the little that you have to see the obvious. They're here for the notebooks. _our_ notebooks.** ~~

Ink flopped down on the grass so that he was lying down, staring up at the endless sky. He waited for the voice to continue.

~~**They want to destroy our universes, Ink. Our creations.** ~~

The voice became more of a hiss.  
~~**Our _life_.**~~

Ink bit his tongue as he thought. _But iIf they wanted to destroy our universes, wouldn't they have done it already? They have bone attacks and Blasters, they could just shoot the notebooks out of the sky. I hate to admit it, but Dream might have been right. They don't look like they're planning to hurt or kill us._

The voice turned slippery smooth once again.

~~**Of _course_ they'd seem legit at first. Gaining everyone's trust, while finding the exact locations of the originals. Playing nice and 'reformed hero'... Everyone is happy... until SNAP, the trap shuts, and guess who's Soul got caught in the middle?** ~~

~~~~

~~**Poor small, _innocent_ little Dreamy~** ~~

Ink's entire body tensed. _No._

~~**Exactly. Which is why we have to kill them before that happens.** ~~

Ink closed his eyes again.

_....Why do you care about Dream?_

~~**What, don't trust me? I'm injured, Ink. I thought we were close.** ~~

_Pretty hard not to be, I guess. But why do you care about him now?_

A pause.

~~**...You got me, I suppose. I don't. But if our universes get destroyed by those imbeciles sharing a home with us, I get weaker. And my hold weakens already, even without their influence.** ~~

Ink sighed. _Is that such a bad thing?_

~~**Oh, Ink,**~~ the voice crooned, ~~**of course it is. I need you, and you need me. And while you certainly don't need that disgusting speck to function properly, it's the only thing keeping me on this plane of existence. If i lose hold of it...**~~

_So... a bad thing?_

The voice groaned exasperatedly. ~~**Yes, a bad thing. A horrible thing. Absolutely terrible. So I need to strenthen my grip. A week, and it would be stronger than ever.**~~

_No._

The voice paused.

~~**...No?...** ~~

_No, Blank,_ Ink replied, adamant. _I refuse. It's bad enough we have to share period, even for only an hour. I'm not giving you an entire week._

Another lengthy pasue.

~~**..........Fine. But what if i told you there was a way to get both of us what we want?** ~~

A skeptical expression.

_...I'm listening, Blank._

~~**It would be simple,**~~ the voice said, echoing in Ink's ears. ~~**You would simply have to listen to me.**~~

_I already told you-_

~~**You're not giving up control to me,** the voice continued, its tone soothing. ~~**You're still completely in control. I'd just be telling you what to do. You'd be the one doing it.**~~~~

Ink waited a bit before responding.  
_And this gets both of us what we want... how?_

~~**Simple,**~~ the voice replied, slow and smooth as it whispered in his ear. ~~**You get Dream all to yourself again, and I get those bothersome skeletons out of the way. The Multiverse would be ours to control.**~~

_...And I'm in control during all of this?_

~~**Yes,**~~ the voice reassured. ~~**All I would be doing is talking to you. Advising you. Helping you.**~~

Ink sighed.  
_You'd be in my head the entire time?_

~~**Only with your permission. We both know I can't take over unless you let me.** ~~

A lengthy pause erupted in the conversation as Ink stared up at the notebooks above. His beloved notebooks.... He had worked so hard to make each and every one of them, even the copies. The idea of the Dark Sanses ripping through them as if they were just pieces of paper....

~~**It enrages me as well, Ink. All the magic and code gone into those worlds, tossed away into the fire like an old newspaper...**~~ the voice was quieter than Ink had heard it so far. ~~**It feels like a piece of my Soul is ripped out with each Universe they destroy.**~~

A deep breath.

_Fine. I'll do it. But only in my head, nothing more. I'm still in control._

~~**Of course,**~~ the voice said smoothly. ~~**Just give me a moment.**~~

The skeleton's eyes flared into question marks. _Wait, what? Why? Where are you-_

Ink stopped mid-sentence when he felt a whistling of wind inside his ribcage, right where his Soul should have been. It was unnatural, cold and strange.

_Blank, what are you-_

~~**Just getting comfortable,**~~ the voice assured, now echoing inside his skull.

_Won't the others hear you?_

~~**We've been over this, Ink. You're the only one who can hear me, no matter how loud I seem to your ears.** ~~

_It figures that I'm the only one you can bother._ Ink picked up his paintbrush, holding it in front of him and doing a few practice swings before strapping it to his back again as he climbed to his feet. _I suppose we should get back._

~~**Capital idea.** ~~

Ink walked away, sliding down the hill into a jog towards the Star Sanses' base resignedly, not looking forward to another interaction with his enemies.

Nobody had noticed the reflection in Ink's paintbrush's metal ferrule, a perfect recreation of his face.

Nobody noticed the red, cracked eyelight in his left socket, sputtering weakly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :333333333333333333333333333333  
> I know it's not a super long chapter, but hey, a chapter is a chapter, right?
> 
> And the plot thickens
> 
> It's getting thicker than oatmeal
> 
> ALL YOU THEORISTS OUT THERE, GET READY TO SHINE!!!  
> Call out a future plot point for the chance to get your username used somewhere in the book! Plus cookies!
> 
> *Cookies not guranteed and limited in quality and quantity.
> 
> The name Blank came from another book I used to write for fun about a D&D campaign, the druid and the cleric were brothers so they named each other after opposites, even when using different, unrelated characters. As the DM, I found it hilarious, and decided that whenever two NPC characters were close to each other, i would give them matching names. I was writing a chapter of that and then BAM, and idea shot through my head, and Blank was born.


	23. Missing Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dark Sanses have sucessfully negotiated safe boarding with the Star Sanses. How are they doing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oopity whoopity, time for some more SHENINIGANS WITH THE SANSES
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor. Merry Christmas my friend! ^w^
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

Error shifted back and forth in his hammock, mumbling softly. His face contorted into a fearful grimace.

"N-no," he whispered quietly, entire body tensing as he slept. "P-please, mare, stop..."

"Error. Error, wake up."

The glitch shot up, eyelights crazed, hands instinctively reaching up to the tear marks on his skull to pull away string magic. He was hyperventilating, panicking.

"Ru, calm down, its just us. You had a bad dream."

Error looked around apprehensively, relaxing when he realized where he was and who he was with. _I'm at the Star Sanses' base, in the Doodle Sphere. Right. Okay_.

"I... I'm sorry, Killer," he whispered hoarsely, taking his phalanges away from his face, noticing a throbbing pain coming from his side and arms.

"It's fine," the other skeleton waved off his concerns, voice quiet and soothing. "Are you okay?"

The pain intensified slightly when Error shifted his hands back towards his side. "...As okay as the situation lets me be. I'm not dead yet, so that's good, at least..."

Killer frowned. "Are you in pain?" Error hesitated. "...A bit. My ribs are what really hurts, everything else is just kind of connected to them and therefore hurts a ton as well."

Killer chuckled grimly. "Yeah, that's how it goes, isn't it? I think we have some healing gel here somewhere..."

Killer stood up slowly, untangling his leg from a very clingy sleeping Dust. All the other Dark Sanses were asleep- it was Killer's turn for a two-hour watch, and after that was Cross's turn, and after that was Horror's. Error didn't have a turn. He was injured, so he needed his rest when he could get it.

After rustling around softly in the bathroom for a few seconds, he emerged from the other room holding a small tub of healing gel clasped in his hand, and some silk scarves (why the Star Sanses had silk scarves in a cabinet in the bathroom was unknown to him) draped over his shoulder. He shut the door quietly behind him, stepping carefully over the other sleeping skeletons.

"Mmmmrrrrrrrggg..." Cross reached out, snagging Killer's foot and pulling him off-balance a bit. "mmmmnooooooo... more cuddlez..."

Killer hopped on one foot for a bit, about to fall, startled into whisper-shouting.  
"AaaaAaaAaaHhhHhhhhhhHHHhhhh Cross!-!!!!"

He regained his balance after whirling his arms up and down frantically, pulling his foot away from Cross's grip. He sighed in relief. "Darn it, Cross..."

Error chuckled softly, watching the whole thing from his blue string hammock. "Aww, all he wants is a cuddle~!"

"He can cuddle when I'm not carrying breakable things," Killer snorted, a smile stretching across his face. "Poor cuddle Cross..."

The tarry skeleton finally reached Error's side after traversing the landmine of sleeping skeletons on the floor, shoulders heaving in silent laughter.

"Horror almost got you," Error observed wryly.

"Ahh, but I was a bit too fast for him!" Killer chuckled. "He was a worthy rival..."

His voice died down a bit.  
"Here, let me see your wounds. I need to apply this to them. We were out of supplies back home, but this should be enough to at least accelerate the healing process."

Error hesitated before rolling up his sleeves, exposing the cracks and chips on the bone. It wasn't too bad, and a few swathes of healing gel would fix it in a day or two. Killer rubbed the strangely cold substance gently into the wounds, making Error shiver slightly as a tingling started in his arms, proof that the healing was starting to take effect. Luckily for them both, his haphephobia wasn't acting up today, and Killer's touch was tolerable.

"I'm going to have to do your ribs too, you know," The other said quietly, sympathy evident in his tone. "I know you'd rather do it yourself, but you can't see the insides of the bone like I can. And since Nighty isn't here...."  
His sentence trailed off, eyes closing in pain quietly.

Error nodded grimly. The goopy skeleton would usually be the only one Error would permit to touch his bones or heal him, but Nightmare was gone. And nobody knew when- if- he was coming back.

"Yeah..." Error's voice was quiet as he braced himself. "Just... please be careful."

"Don't worry, Error, I will," Killer reassured, scooping out some more healing gel and dabbing it gently on the glitch's bones. "It'll be over soon."

Error winced and closed his eyes, flinching at every touch. His haphephobia (even weak as it was today) and self-preservation instincts were putting together a joint effort, creating a familiar scream in his skull that told him to get away, to run, to shove Killer back.  
He gritted his teeth and clenched his phalanges into fists, enduring the tingling sensation of the gel on his ribs. _Killer is safe. He won't hurt me. I trust him_.

"Error?"

Killer waved a hand in front of the other's face, worry evident in his expression. "Are you okay?"

"Are you done?" Error focused his eyelights on Killer with a bit of difficulty.

"I have been done for about two minutes. You didn't respond, but you didn't crash, either. Are you okay?"

"I... I don't know."  
Error's voice choked up, his throat refusing to work. "I just... I _really_ miss home.... and..."

He closed his eyes, trying to will away the tears that threatened to overflow down his cheeks. He couldn't cry. Not here, when Ink might have installed cameras or something. He refused to give the insane idiot that satisfaction.

Killer placed a hand gently next to Error's. "I miss it too, Ruru. It's okay."

It was all Error could do to shake his head, a half-crazed smile on his face. Nobody could promise that. There was no guarantee that anything would be okay, ever again.  
He squeezed Killer's hand on instinct.

"I just miss Nightmare," Error whispered, the words coming out in a quiet sob. "I miss him so much..."

Killer squeezed back. "I know..."

Error took a shaky breath after a few minutes of silence, just listening to the deep breathing (or in Horror's case, snoring) of the others in the room.  
He was the only parent figure left. He couldn't be weak like this. He had to be strong. It's what Nightmare... the old Nightmare... would have wanted.

"...'M sorrry..." The glitchy skeleton released Killer's hand.

Killer looked at Error, confused. "For what?"

"I need... I need to be there for you, Killer. Not the other way around." Error inhaled deeply. "I have to be strong. For.... for Nightmare."

Killer gripped Error's hand again, clinging to the familiar warmth. "You don't have to pretend, Error. We're all in this together. We're going to all get out of it together. Okay?"

Error nodded, a small smile spreading across his face despite his raging emotions. Killer was like a rock he could cling to.

"Okay."

Killer watched as Error closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. Error meant so much to him... at least that was something Ink hadn't managed to take away from him altogether. Family.

For tonight, at least, they all had each other. And who knows?

Maybe that would be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might not be, though...
> 
> ~le anime gasp~
> 
> SANSES BEING STRONG FOR ONE ANOTHER??
> 
> HURT WITH ACTUAL **COMFORT???**
> 
> Yeeeaaaah don't get used to it. One time deal, I assure you. Maybe. 
> 
> MERRY CHRISTMAS MY DEAR READERS~
> 
> -PitchBlackWings


	24. A Possible Solution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink, Dream, Blue and the Dark Sanses try to brainstorm to find a solution. 
> 
> ...It turns out to be a bit more literal than you might think...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO!!!
> 
> GUESS WHO HURT THEIR HAND RECENTLY AND COULDN'T TYPE BECAUSE OF THE AGONIZING PAIN?!?!?
> 
> *points to self*
> 
> THAT'S RIGHT, IT WAS MEEEEEEEEEE
> 
> So yeah, I'm not gravely injured or anything or going on hiatus, it's just gonna be a widdle bit longer for updates. BECAUSE THAT'S HOW I GOTTA ROLL NOW
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Writer/Editor who corrects all of my mistakes that I made one-handed. THEY ARE A GODSEND THANK YOU SO MUCH
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

Dream was sitting on a couch, Blue sitting next to him. The air was so incredibly tense that someone could almost cut it with a knife. Cross found himself wondering if there would really be any added air resistance if he summoned his knife and took a swing with it.

That... probably wouldn't help, though.

"SO!" Blueberry clapped his hands together, a bright, awkward smile on his face. "Um... did everyone have a good night's sleep?"

Error stared at the other skeleton blankly. The glitch was sitting on the couch, leg propped up carefully to help circulate the magic flow. "Not in the slightest, but thank you for asking," he deadpanned.

Blue faltered slightly. "Uh, sorry about that. Why not?"

"We feared for our lives and set up a watch," Horror offered. "Therefore, everyone but Error lost a few hours of sleep. And Error barely slept, period."

Blueberry paused, opening his mouth and then closing it again. Dream spoke up in his place to prevent the conversation from becoming any more random.  
"Why did you set up a watch? We promised we wouldn't hurt you!"

"Oh, well excuse us if we don't believe you," Killer snorted, sarcasm layered in his voice. "You only hunted us down and tried to kill us for years, of course we'd believe you immediately! You have gained our unending trust and loyalty!"

There was a lengthy pause as everyone just stared at everyone else. Dream coughed, cutting through the silence.

"Alright, that's fair. Am I right in supposing everybody knows why we're here?"

Killer nodded grimly. "We're all fully aware. This needs to end today."

"So does anybody have any ideas whatsoever?" Ink spoke up for the first time, glaring at the Dark Sanses. "You've been in the same castle as him for weeks now- surely you've got a few ideas!"

"Unfortunately, we don't," Error growled, narrowing his eyes at Ink. "It's like Nightmare is a completely different person. He's heartless and cruel, as you can see from my condition. Mare used to bandage my wounds himself, and he never hurt us. The last few weeks, we've feared for our lives."

"You act like he's some sort of father to you," Dream said gently. "You really care about him, don't you?"

"He was exactly like a dad to me," Fresh said quietly, staring at the ground. His voice lowered to a whisper. ".....I miss him..."

"We all miss him, bud," Cross said soothingly, placing a hand on Fresh's knee. The thing closest to a hug he could give in front of the Star Sanses.

Horror glared at Ink.  
"You know, if we knew what that potion was supposed to do, we could try to figure out what happened exactly," He stated. "Otherwise it's just a shot in the dark."

Ink frowned, recalling what the potion was supposed to have done. Curse his memory-

**~~It was supposed to kill him. It was supposed to kill any mortal. But you messed it up, like you usually do.~~ **

Ink's frown momentarily deepened at Blank's intrusion. _I didn't ask for your help, Blank. ___

____

____

**~~And yet I gave it. You're welcome.~~ **

"The potion was supposed to kill Nightmare," Ink growled quietly. "It was supposed to kill any mortal being, no matter how high their HP was."

All the Dark Sanses and Dream stared at Ink.

"...What? Dream, if this is about me giving an apology, then I'm sorry, but I still think-"

"You are an _idiot_ ," Killer expressed. "A complete and total _moron_. Nightmare is a Guardian, that's as good as a God, he can't die!"

Dream nodded slowly. "That makes sense... Nighty did say that whenever I got worried about his injuries back at the tree... before things changed."

Blue steepled his hands together in front of his face. "Exactly how did Nightmare change then? I've always wondered..."

Dream paused.  
"It was just like... like he lost all feeling for everyone. He was terrifying. Like he lost all emotion for anything. He just started killing... and he... he wouldn't stop..."

The skeleton's voice petered out as he stared at his hands, clenched in his lap.

"That's what I was trying to stop from happening to you, Dream. He's always been an emotionless monster, and he's out for your blood!" Ink protested, crossing his arms insufferably.

Error barely held in a growl. _This idiot..._

There was a slight pause in the conversation as half of the room glared at one person. Ink was a very unpopular person today, and if looks could kill, dust would be flying everywhere.

"Maybe now he is..."

Dust spoke up for the first time as all eyes drifted to him.  
"Guys, what if the potion reverted Nightmare back to his original form? Like, he doesn't have any emotions for anybody or anything anymore? Wouldn't that explain it?"

Complete silence.

"That's actually really... that's accurate," Error said, volume rising. "Nightmare doesn't care about any of us because he literally _can't_..."

The glitchy skeleton deflated moments after speaking.  
"Even if that's the case, it's not like we could just give him his emotions back."

Blue pointed at Ink's satchel. "Ink, don't your paints give people emotions?"

Ink's perpetual frown deepened.  
"Well, yeah, but only one at a time, or at most two. It wouldn't work."

"So what if we mixed them?" Dream wondered. "Like, took some of each paint and mixed them together, and then injected or splashed it on Nightmare? You know, forcing emotions back into him or something?"

Error looked at Dream. Everyone looked at Dream

"That could work!" He finally gasped, shock and hope on his features. "That could actually work!"

"…And if it doesn't, maybe it'll at least weaken him enough for me- us- to actually kill him this time," Ink growled out reluctantly. "I suppose I could lend a little bit of my paints. But no more than one half a teaspoon of each color! I don't care how much of a danger Nightmare is like this, I need those way too much." _Especially now that Blank is here with me._

**~~Such confidence is overwhelming, Blank's voice hissed in his mind.~~ **

_shut up._

**~~No need to be rude.~~ **

"Nobody's asking for a pint of each, Ink," Blue soothed softly, trying to play the peacekeeper. "We only need a little bit. Besides, doesn't the paint always fill back up once it's used? there's no need to worry!"

"Hrrff." Ink crossed his arms, annoyed and angry. "Fine. _Fine._ I'll be the mature one. Let's say we all agree to this stupid plan. Where would we start? _When_ would we even start?"

Killer spoke up this time, voice leaving no room for argument. This entire thing- plotting how to save, and, if that didn't work, actually _kill_ his dad made his bones crawl. It felt so wrong.  
But there was nothing that could be done. If Nightmare- the real one- was here with him, he would tell him to do it. Nightmare wouldn't want this any more than Killer did, but he would be more than willing to give his life to protect the ones he loved. And while that didn't make the decision any easier on his conscience, Killer knew what had to be done. Nightmare couldn't be left alone to destroy the Multiverse any longer. 

"We start as soon as possible."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gasps*
> 
> Are we nearing the end?! Could there possibly be a _happy ending_ in sight for this tale?!?!
> 
>   
> Aw.  
> Come on.  
> You know me better than that by now. ;3
> 
> Not sure when the next one is coming out but it WILL BE IN NIGHTY'S POV  
> GET READY  
> FOR  
> ANGSTTTTT
> 
> And kudos to you if you can find the pun I made in the summary ;3


	25. Monster (part one)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why did Nightmare keep the Souls, anyway? What are they for?
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER 25
> 
> THAT'S GOTTA BE A MILESTONE, RIGHT???
> 
> RIGHT?!?!?!
> 
> ANOTHER chapter so soon?!?! Has Pitch finally gotten into a work ethic?!?!?!  
> IS THE WORK CLOSE TO FINISHING???
> 
> No and Maybe. No and Maybe, my friends.

Nightmare paced up and down his office, his bright blue eyelight narrowed.

Nothing had really been going his way recently.

Killer, Horror, Dust, and Cross had run away, taking Fresh and Error with them, as well as his prisoner, Dream. That much was obvious now. He was a fool to believe they could be kept in line.

But at least he didn't have any more blurred lines. Keeping them around was... uncomfortable, anyway. Every time he has to punish one of them, his Soul would... twinge. When he had to teach Error a lesson to teach him his place, he had actually...

_hesitated._

Why had he done that? There was nothing unusual about his behavior, so why did he feel so reluctant?

Stars, all this internal conflict was making him feel weak.  
There would be no more of this, at least, in any case. He had learned his lesson, after all. There would be no more MERCY for the likes of them. He would have to kill them all.

Except for Error, of course, since he was a God, but perhaps it was better that way. Keep the little glitch in line. He could torture him until the end of time and never once have to worry about his toy dying...

Why did that thought make him uncomfortable?

It didn't matter. None of this did. He needed to focus. Right. How to get to his quarry. What he did with them after that was flexible.

It was clear that they had escaped to a place with protected codes, as he couldn't reach out and find them by searching the emotions of others in the AUs.  
There were only a few such places, which narrowed things down. Where would they take Dream, Error, and Fresh, all of which were weaker than most at the moment?

There was the Anti-Void, but Nightmare doubted it, as he still had access. And Cross hated the white space.  
There were also a few AUs, but they would hate everyone except Dream. And since Dream was injured, that would definitely get them off on the wrong foot. Too much of a risk for them to have gone there.  
There was the Doodle Sphere....

That was it. They were in the Doodle Sphere and had probably made some sort of deal with Ink for safe housing. Probably a mutually beneficial relationship. They were probably going to try and take him down together.

Nightmare frowned, his pacing increasing in its speed. That could be a problem. Not by power difference, of course not, but the sheer number of allies Ink could probably muster to help him. And with no backup, being swarmed was not a risk he was willing to take.

First precaution was already taken- the hideout's codes were moved, shuffled, and completely locked to everyone except the Guardian of Negativity himself. If Error tried to override the codes, he would get at least a 30-minute head start- he had put a lot of work into the firewalls.

He needed a next step to take. Something else.  
Nightmare needed more help- backup that wouldn't turn on him. He couldn't trust any Sanses- none of the strong ones, at least. And the Charas might turn on him. Not quite dangerous, but very annoying. And going outside of the hideout without backup was putting himself in danger.

He sighed. Paranoia was a pain. But it was necessary if he wanted to play this right.

At least Sci wasn't there to help Ink anymore. Nightmare allowed himself a small smile as he recalled the death of the pitiful scientist and his AU. There would be no "perfect antidote serum" to try and splash on him this time. He had made sure of that.

So, help. He needed more servants. More _soldiers_. What did he have that was useful for him right now?

Food- nice, but unnecessary. He didn't need to eat, but for some reason it gave him a strange sense of familiarity to cook.  
Weapons- he had his magic and tendrils. He didn't need weapons, other than maybe a dagger or two just in case.

Shelter- that was only given as long as he stayed here. Which was nice, but not nearly enough.  
The Souls--

Nightmare paused in his pacing. Originally he had brought them from Outertale to enrage Ink and as bargaining tokens for Dream, but maybe there was another way to use them... if he could convince them to listen.

His tight frown slowly crept into a smirk, piercing blue eyelight narrowing to a slit. He could be _very_ convincing when he wanted to.

With a twitch of his tentacles and a burst of static, he took a shortcut from the dimly lit office, leaving nothing but a few stray drops of corruption where he had walked. His servants wanted to rebel? Well, they'd soon see the consequences of crossing the Monster who haunts the nightmares of the Multiverse.

They were playing the endgame now, and Nightmare intended to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like writing Goopdad but NightMonster is fun too SO THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS ARE GONNA BE NIGHTMARE
> 
> AND RUBBER DUCKS ITS GETTING INTENSE UP IN HERE *sweats* *turns up AC* *continues to sweat*
> 
> Also another thanks to X for editing. Gosh I tried to use google's voice recognition thing to type and I read like two paragraphs and I was like HAHAHAHAHAHAH nope! I am NOT SENDING THIS ABSOLUTE CRAP
> 
> So I took like fifteen to thirty minutes just trying to iron out the errors and IT WAS STILL FULL OF THEM IT WAS RIDICULOUS
> 
> So yeah X has been a very valued beta reader and I cannot thank them enough ^^'
> 
> THE NEXT CHAPTER IS LIKE SUPER LONG OH MY POOR FINGERS HELP MEEE


	26. Monster (part two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare isn't playing around anymore...
> 
> I mean, he was never playing around in the first place, but now _it's **on**_ **.**
> 
> LONGEST CHAPTER YET AND MY FINGERS ARE PRAISING GOD THAT IT'S DONE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO I FINALLY GET TO ADD SOME MORE OCS GUYS
> 
> FUN
> 
> Another chapter so soon? Aren't you lucky!!
> 
> Or I'm just bored out of my mind and writing as much as my poor hand can hand-le *ayyyy bad punssss*
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

Nightmare had taken a shortcut straight to the lower floors of the dungeon at the bottom of his fortress. Unfortunately, not many had ever stayed there. Whether it was because he didn't really take prisoners or because he tended to release or dust them after a very short time, he couldn't remember. But that really didn't matter right now.

Navigating the often literal maze of rooms and hallways was second nature for the tarry skeleton, and he reveled in the cool dark of the atmosphere underneath his castle. Why don't I come down here more often?

He stopped in front of a large iron door, smile growing into a smirk as he opened the door and stepped into the almost pitch-black room before closing it behind him.

On the long table in front of him lay six glowing cylinders, each housing a colorful, floating, heart-shaped object. A fallen child's Soul, taken from Outer!Tale-Alpha/Original (where he had taken Dream captive… it seemed like eons ago. Funny how time flies) Since that AU was destroyed, these Souls were homeless and alone. If the Souls were let out of the containers, they would re-form as ghosts, since their world would no longer be able to summon them home. However, Nightmare had taken precautions in this room to make sure that his quarry didn't run away.

Because it would be such a **shame** if he had to get a bloodstain on his favorite jacket, now, wouldn't it?

Nightmare slipped a tentacle around each of the containers, carefully releasing the catch on the lid keeping them shut before retracting his tentacles and easing back to lean against the wall, watching with a narrowed eye as the lids of the cylinders slowly popped off, allowing the Souls to float up into the air.

Slowly, bright light enveloped the floating hearts, pulsing and growing until each Soul had a shining body of light.

_....Where are we?  
I dunno, it's dark and cold and I don't like it.  
I wanna go home!_

_Would everyone just SHUT UP for ONE SECOND?!_

Nightmare had to repress a groan at their voices, whiny and shaking, even though they were obviously trying to hide it. He kept yquiet, watching them as he leaned against the wall. Ugh, why he even bothered with children was beyond his understanding... he was already regretting this. Their whimpers were giving him a headache.

Cyan, blue, green, orange, purple, and red. The spectral, floating children gave off different shades of light, matching their traits.  
How _cute._

The Souls paused, actually stopping their whining at the red one's insistent rudeness.

_I mean it! Does anybody remember what happened?_

The glowing, ethereal forms wavered, apparently trying to remember.

_We fell down and Asgore was fighting us, right...? And he was too strong, and he put us in these containers?  
Yeah, that's what happened!  
So why did we wake up down here? What's going on?  
I don't know! Did Asgore move us somewhere?  
Well, I wish he had just left us! It's dark and cold here!  
Yeah, I honestly preferred it back... wherever we were. I don't even know where we are now!_

...As entertaining as their talk was, Nightmare was getting tired of their complaining. It sounded too much like his... minion's... idle chatter, and the stars knew he wasn't going to put up with more of that.  
He flashed his eyelight as brightly as it could go, putting on a blindingly white smile as he stepped away from the wall he was propped up against, walking with slow precision to the middle of the room, feeling the 'eyes' of all six Souls on him as all chatter was cut short. Ah, blissful silence.

He stopped once he reached the center of the room, looking over the six ghostly forms floating about a foot off of the ground. "...Hello."

_Who's that? Who are they?  
I don't know! I couldn't see out of the containers, they were all blurry and everything! Yeah, it was really annoying... What even are they? Never seen a Monster like them!  
...They look kinda like Sans, don't they?  
But they aren't Sans! They're all... goopy and stuff! And they only have one eye!  
Their voice is weird. It's all deep. Sans doesn't talk like that.  
Why are they here, period? Did they take us away from Asgore? Did-_

Nightmare narrowed his eye, slightly annoyed of their prattle. "Would you all just _shut up?_ "

Instantly, the talk stopped.

And then picked back up, louder than before.

_YOU CAN HEAR US?!  
Why can you hear us? Where are we?  
Where's Asgore? Are we still underground?  
What happened to us??  
Where's Toriel and Papyrus?  
Why are we here??_

Nightmare glared at them.  
"I said **shut up.** "

The eerie mind-voices immediately came to a stop, and Nightmare suppressed a relieved sigh. They were giving him a headache. But they were children. He had to play nice, for now at least. Gain their trust.

"Now. I'm going to answer questions, one at a time, if you're all polite. Got that?"

Nods of assent from all of the ghosts. At least, he thought they were ghosts. They were dead and not solid? He was going with ghosts.

"Okay, good. See, we can all work together. First question. You, the ostentatious orange one politely raising your hand."

The glowing orange ghost-child floated a bit higher at being the first to be able to ask a question.

_Who are you?_

The skeleton hummed.  
"My name is Nightmare. I'm the Guardian of Negativity."

The children looked slightly wary at this information.

_Sounds... scary.  
Shhh!_

"Next question. You, the bright purple one."

_Why do you look like Sans but all goopy?  
That's a terrible question!  
Be quiet and listen until it's your turn!_

Nightmare sighed internally. Children. He had never understood the appeal.

"I look like Sans because I am an alternate version of your Sans. I look all... 'goopy'... because my brother did horrible things to me, and this is the result. The story's details would not be suitable for children."

_Hey, I'm almost thirty two!  
He means our mental age, stupid. Before Asgore trapped all of us in those jar things._

This was already becoming tiring to the Guardian. Oh, how he wished he could kill one, just one of them, so they would all shut up...  
No. No, he couldn't do that. He needed all of them. Each one could be a valuable asset if he played this right.

"Alright, next question. You, the green one over there."

_Where are we and how did we get here?  
Yeah! Where the heck are we?  
Shh! Be quiet or we won't get an answer!  
...Sorry..._

Nightmare sighed. He wished the constant flurry of voices in his head would just stop. It was getting quite distracting.

"You're currently in the basement of my dungeon, in one of the side rooms..."

_Did he just say dungeon?  
Why the heck are we in a dungeon?  
Would you shut up and let him talk??_

The Guardian of Negativity silently decided he liked the voice that kept telling the others to be quiet. The red one, it seemed. At least one had caught his interest. Maybe this wouldn't be a complete waste of time after all.

"I brought you here after I took care of Outer- your Sans- and his friends," Nightmare continued. "It was child's play. There used to be seven of you, I believe, but one of you was needed for a demonstration."

_"take care of"? That doesn't mean...  
What did you do to Sans?!  
Read in between the lines, he killed him!  
No way! Sans was crazy strong! That's impossible!  
Okay, it's my question now. What did you do to Sans? To all the Monsters?_

"Sans I left alive. I killed the others," Nightmare deadpanned, his expression neutral as ever.

There was a moment of blessed silence.

_...All of them?_

"Well, no," Nightmare admitted. "I killed most of the powerful monsters, though. Undyne, Alphys, Asgore, and a few others. My subordinates took care of the rest of them, though. Believe me, there are very few survivors left. And since there are no more fallen humans, there can be no resets. They will stay dead."

_You... you killed them?  
How could you do something like that??_

Nightmare shrugged.  
"I'm the Guardian off Negativity. It doesn't bother me. Their deaths benefited me and worked towards my goals, so I killed the Monsters in your world."

_Didn't you think of all the lives you ruined?  
What makes you so much more important than them?!  
What even makes you think that's right?  
Messed up is what it is!_

Another shrug. "You're probably right. To be honest? I don't care."  
And besides, some of those Souls had quite a bit of EXP themselves, the hypocrites. They shouldn't be judging anyone else. In their defense, they did have to deal with Chara. Counterpoint, he was _Nightmare_ and he did what he freaking _wanted_.

The Souls just hovered there for about half a minute, not transmitting anything other than raw emotions. Nightmare actually had to focus to be able to decipher any of them...

_Disbelief. Anger. Fury. Sadness. Fear. Anger. Anger. Anger. Fury. Hate. DIE YOU SCUM-_

Wait, what-?

The orange ghost-child flew directly in Nightmare's face, obviously the source of all the hate coming through the mental link between Nightmare himself and the other half-spirits. Orange was for bravery, right?

Well, it certainly fit this little creature. The kid was uselessly swinging their spectral 'fists' through Nightmare's skull. And while unpleasant, the sensation wasn't harming in the least. With the precautions he had taken, none of the Souls were able to do any damage. They were of absolutely no danger to him.

However, _Nightmare_ could be a very real danger to _them_.

He stood there, just taking the hits for a few seconds, before letting his eye twitch in annoyance.

"Enough. I am not a punching bag to be used for your entertainment."

The orange spirit didn't falter, if anything, swinging harder.

_You killed my friends! And you tried to kill Sans!! You- you'll pay for this!!_

Another pause, and then the attacks continued, quicker than ever.

_Orange, stop, you're gonna make him mad-  
SO WHAT IF I DO?! I DON'T CARE! He probably can't even fight back, we're ghosts, what's he gonna do?!?!_

Nightmare let his eye narrow further, annoyance growing. "Cease your infantile efforts before I lose my temper."

_I! Don't!! CARE, YOU STUPID... LYING... DIRTY..._

The other spirits backed away hurriedly, putting as much space between themselves and the 'fight' going on in the middle of the room. They may not be sure if the skeleton/Eldritch horror could actually hurt them, but they weren't taking any chances. At least it would mean they weren't caught directly in any crossfire.

Nightmare stared at the blinding orange Soul-ghost trying desperately to maul him.

"...Last warning. _Get off of me._ "

_  
NO! There's nothing YOU could even DO!! I'm a GHOST, stupid 'Frightmore' or whatever your cheesy name even is!! You're going to TAKE US HOME!!  
_  
A flurry of 'blows' swung through Nightmare's head, passing through while doing no damage other than that annoying tingling feeling.

The orange Soul-ghost's fist passed through the tar-like skeleton's bright blue eyesocket in a well-aimed blow, and that was the last straw.  
Nightmare swore he could feel his last nerve stretched taunt and then snapping from the strain.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he had released a single tendril, letting it wrap around the Soul floating in the middle of the ghost's chest and squeezing.  
The orange form of the ghost stopped, taken aback by this sudden show of aggression. 

_W-what do you think you're doing-?!_

A slight snarl was Nightmare's only answer as with a single motion, he constricted his tentacle, watching with satisfaction as the black appendage cut into the Soul, meeting a token bit of resistance before cleaving it entirely in two with a very satisfying cracking noise.  
The orange, spectral form of the child wavered, dimming drastically.

_What... what did you...?_

The Guardian of Negativity didn't bother to answer the ghost, simply opting to watch as the orange glowing aura of light faded away into nothing.

He probably should have just restrained the child, on second thought, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. Besides, he was having a hard enough time dealing with the Souls to begin with. He wasn't going to endorse bad behavior. Maybe this 'Orange' one would serve as an example.  
Speaking of the other ghosts...

Nightmare turned his piercing gaze back on the other five, watching as they cowered back against the wall. Fear was far preferable to blatant disrespect, at least.

_He just killed Orange. He just killed Orange....  
What... how??  
Can Guardians kill ghosts or something?!  
Evidently!  
What are we supposed to do now, what's going to-_

**"If I could have your attention,"** Nightmare said, cutting off the panicked mind-voices before his headache intensified. Heh. A godlike being as himself being subjected to headaches and whining children... who'd have thought he would sink this low?

"Your constant talk is giving me a headache. So we're not going to have a back-and-forth conversation. I'm going to tell you what I intend, and when I ask you something, your responses will be the only time I hear you talking. Alright?"

Fearful nods from the five spectral beings floating near the wall.

"Alright. Now listen. I have a dilemma on my hands right now."

He passed his gaze over all the Souls, trying to size them up. It wasn't working very well, to be honest. They were only light, after all.  
"My brother and his friends have started a fight with me, and normally I would be able to fight them off all on my own, but they have the ability to collect a huge number of help to battle me with. It's quite annoying. Following me so far?"

_Y-yes.  
Uh-huh.  
Yeah.  
Yes.  
Yes._

"Good. So, if you're up for it, we could make a little deal involving them and us."

A slight pause.

_  
...What kind of deal?  
Sssshhhhh!!!  
_

The black skeleton waved his hand dismissively. "It's a good question."  
His eyelight narrowed, watching them closely.

"So. I could make bodies for you. You could be solid again. Interact with the real world. All you'd have to do is work for me."

_...Work for you?  
You seriously aren't thinking about doing it, right, Red? The dude killed Orange!  
It's better than being annihilated...?  
But we don't know that! For all we know it could be WORSE than a second death!_

"Oh, no," Nightmare said smoothly. "The green one had it right the first time. It's simply annihilation. Death. I'm not a big fan of prisoners, although I do make exceptions from time to time. I have a bit of a... shall we say 'short fuse'? It makes dealing with captives very frustrating."

_That... that's not reassuring! Not in the slightest!  
That is the opposite of reassuring!  
What kind of sick psycho are you?!_

Another shrug from the skeleton.  
"It wasn't supposed to be reassuring. And I thought I told you about speaking without being spoken to?"

Instant, beautiful silence. What a beautiful thing, being able to hear one's own thoughts....

"So there's really only two choices here for you five. _And it can easily be four,_ " Nightmare added, narrowing his eye at the blue Soul who had called him a psycho. He probably did have some sort of psychosis or the other, but it was very rude to assume such things about someone without knowing anything about them first.

"You can be my soldiers in battle, bound to do as I say in one of the bodies I can make for you. OR you can die, slowly and painfully, as I rip the culmination of your beings apart, one by one. I can start over, find other ways to recruit help. It's quite simple, really."

There was complete and total silence in the room, broken only by the soft dripping of corruption from Nightmare's tentacles to the stone floor.

Nightmare stared at the Souls, giving them a little bit of silence to 'think things over'. It really wasn't a hard decision. Join him, or die. No grey areas.

"Well? Come on, now, don't be shy. You, the blue one. It's a very simple choice. Do you want to die, or do you want to join me?"

A deep mental intake of breath as the blue ghost floated forward, stopping about ten feet away from the corrupted skeleton.  
_...I can't._

Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "And why would that be?"

_You... you killed Orange. And Toriel. And Asgore. And some of my other friends. I don't want to work for you. I can't work for you. It's not right._

_No!  
Blue, he'll kill you, you can't-_

**"I don't remember asking you others to speak?"**

The other ghosts immediately shut up, much to Nightmare's relief. At least the orange one had served as a good example...  
"...Alright, then. Hold still."

_Why would I need to hold sti-_

A tendril of pure corruption shot out from Nightmare's back, piercing the Soul and using the leverage to wrap around the heart-shaped object. "So it doesn't hurt as much."

A few seconds of intense pressure later, and the blue Soul shattered into shards of tinted light. He watched as the blue ghost's aura faded into nothingness, narrowing his single eye. He didn't want to absorb the Souls (too much left to chance), but it was becoming more of a bother than he was willing to deal with to recruit them. The blue one... wasn't blue for "integrity"? That would explain a lot.  
Hmm. If all of them had traits like that...

Ah, well. Even if he wasn't absorbing them, these particular Souls had quite a bit of EXP to give, so at least it wasn't a complete loss.

The black skeleton turned to the rest of the Soul ghosts. Might as well get this over with.  
"Who's next, then?"

There was silence. Only the sound of Nightmare's corruption dripping to the stone floor.

"So you're going to make me choose again?" His annoyance slipped into his voice as his eye narrowed. This was becoming counterproductive.

_N-no, I'll go, I can go!_

Nightmare's head turned to stare at the red Soul. The Determined one. Frisk.  
"And what is your choice?"

A deep mental intake of breath.

_I... I wanna work for you._

The tar-like skeleton's eye opened in slight surprise. He was almost sure that the Determination Soul would be, well, determined not to betray their Monster 'friends'.

_No, Red!  
I can't believe that you'd betray Sans like that!  
Shut up, it's their decision!_

"Well, that's one," Nightmare said, beckoning the red-tinted ghost closer with a nod of his head. The spirit cautiously floated next to Nightmare, wary of how close he was to them. "Now, what about you other three?"

The other Souls cringed back. They were letting off a lot of fear, but also... resignation?

_I... I don't want to join you!  
Don't worry, Green, you won't be alone. We aren't joining you either, right, Purple?  
Yeah, we'd never join you, Nightstare!_

Nightmare narrowed his eye almost to a slit. They were getting his name wrong on purpose.  
These children really were a pain. No wonder Undyne always hated them at first.

"Fine. It's your funeral."

He didn't even bother using his tendrils, instead choosing to simply shoot out shards of corruption to shatter the Souls in the center of the three ghosts' chests, watching with a slight twinge of satisfaction as their glowing auras faded out of existence. He turned to the red Soul-ghost once the light from the others had completely evaporated, his gaze cynical as he took in the red spirit.

"Now. Let's see about getting you a body, shall we?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Orange, Green, Purple, Cyan and Blue are such good children ;-; press F to pay respects? 
> 
> And no, Nightmare is usually much more of a jerk than this. He just tries to tone it down for the sake of the kiddos... (not that it helps much tbh)  
> 
> 
> ANNOUNCEMENTS MUST BE MADE!!
> 
> One: there will be a sequel to ALN. A sequel! We're nearing the end of the book now, but that's only one hill on the rollercoaster, my friends! ;3
> 
> Two: I'm going to be making a Patreon soon! So if you have a few extra bucks lying around and like my work and want to donate, your chance will be coming up soon!
> 
> The next chapter will be coming out (hopefully) in a week or two, and it's almost as long... ^^'  
> If you liked this one, don't be afraid to give a kudos or even a comment! They make my day :3


	27. Setting the Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much to do, so many things to prepare, such little margin for error...
> 
> **  
> _And the Multiverse doesn't have that much time left._  
> **
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just see Dream as like never cursing bc he is a pure bean.  
> Nightmare would probably try not to curse so as not to be an absolutely terrible influence on his boys, and it would just become a habit.  
> Ink wouldn't understand the appeal.  
> Blank doesn't care and probably would decide to find better words to voice his frustration bc HE IS A DAPPER, DISTINGUISHED PERSON/GHOST/THING~  
> Error would probably glitch out any curse words because F4TE would do something like that for funsies, idk. So he just stops using them since it hurts to glitch. And Fresh would censor him anyways...  
> Fresh hates curse words and would never use them. He censors the others when he's around them.  
> Killer, Horror, and Dust would be conditioned by Nightmare not to use them. And they physically can't curse around Fresh.  
> And Cross is another pure bean like Fresh who is not interested in curse words. :3
> 
> THIS HAS BEEN YOUR EPISODE OF "WHY MY CHARACTERS HAVE NOT CURSED SO FAR THAT I CAN REMEMBER" WITH ME AS YOUR HOST, PITCHBLACKWINGS, THANKYOUGOODBYEANDGOODNIGHT

Dream stared at the vial held in his glove. It was small, just a tiny glass container filled with swirling colors. It looked harmless, pretty and unique.

And it might just be their last hope. Heck, it might just be the entire _Multiverse's_ last hope!

Killer had expressed his certainty that Nightmare could actually be killed if they caught hold of his Soul, and the last time Ink had used his potion on Nightmare, his goop had receded and left his Soul vulnerable. However, Dream had his doubts. Would that effect take place with a different but similarly intended substance? Nobody even knew how Ink's paints even worked! They just... gave him emotions, right? When he last asked him, all Ink said was that they allowed him to feel. They might not even _contain_ emotions, just some sort of crazy substance that allowed Ink to feel emotions! They tested it with Horror (since he claimed to have the strongest stomach), and even though Horror felt giddy the rest of the hour, it might just be some fluke, or it might only make regular skeletons feel emotions! It might not work on a corrupted Monster like his brother!

This was a shot in the dark, plain and simple. If Ink's potions actually gave people emotions. If they were able to get close enough to splash it on him. If he wasn't immune.

If it had a strong enough effect to turn him back to normal, or at least get his Soul. If Nightmare could actually be killed by using his Soul. If Nightmare didn't just kill them all before they could spring the trap...

That was a whole lot of **Ifs.**

Way, way more than Dream was even remotely comfortable with. But they didn't have time to come up with something else. Dream wasn't sure there was something else to come up WITH. This was probably their best shot.

And most definitely their ONLY shot. Nightmare was paranoid way back when they were still at the Tree, when they were still family and together. His paranoia was bound to be running wild now. The chance of him showing up at a baited trap was incredibly low, looking at it logically. Like finding a shiny Rayquaza in the Hoenn region or something. Their entire plan relied on Nightmare being dumb enough to just _show up_ at the trap. Their last hope was propped up on hopes and toothpicks.

... And now even the Guardian of Positivity was caught up in pessimism. Great. Just abso-flipping-LUTELY great.

He shook his head to try and clear it. This wasn't the time to doubt his friends and... acquaintances? Not-enemies? He had no idea what Ink was to him. Or Error, or Horror, or Dust, or Fresh. Cross and Killer, he knew well enough to call friends, but the other Dark Sanses were understandably wary. And while Ink and Dream weren't exactly enemies... they certainly weren't on 'friendly terms', in any definition of the words. Dream hadn't forgotten, and he hadn't forgiven yet, either. But right now, there was a greater threat, and he couldn't let their animosity get in the way of their combined goal.  
If only Ink weren't so adamant that he was always _right_ about the entire ordeal. Come on, now, it was obviously his fault that any of this even happened! He shouldn't have tried to kill his brother behind his back!

But nooo, instead it was always "Oh, if only I had succeeded in killing him, none of this would BLAH BLAH BLAH." Always passing the blame, never considering that him even ATTEMPTING to kill Nightmare had caused everything! Why was his logic so messed up??

And then the creating. All the creating, over and over, **literally shortening the life of the Multiverse**... it was ridiculous! He never listened, ever! It was horrifying how securely he could deafen his ears to common sense! Sometimes Dream wondered how he even managed to think Ink was his friend in the first place. How did he never see through his charade until just recently?

...This wasn't getting him anywhere, was it?

What _positives_ had been involved in his life recently that he could focus on, all things considered?

Well, Error had healed up pretty nicely. He still would be vulnerable if he decided to fight (and honestly, Dream didn't want to be the one to tell him he couldn't, so he probably would), but apparently the glitch's status as a God gave him some sort of super fast regeneration ability? It would explain why Error was always back at destroying AUs so quickly even after being injured by Ink...

Cross had warmed up to Dream in the last few days, at least? After Dream had made the Dark Sanses a mug of hot chocolate each (Ink kept the house cold as the Arctic, he'd swear), and Cross accepted his cup eagerly. That had led to a very energetic conversation about different chocolate products (apparently the skeleton was quite a fan) and complicated clothing choices. The other Dark skeletons had been... less cautious? They still set up a watch every night to make sure nothing happened, and Fresh was still accompanied by at least one of them at all times... but there was no longer open animosity, awkward glaring contests, refusal to eat their food for fear of poisoning. Was there caution? Certainly! But they no longer seemed to consider the Star Sanses their enemies.

Well, except for Ink.

It was almost like magic, to be honest. Dream and Blue were having a perfectly fine, courteous, engaging conversation with Killer and Fresh, and then Ink would walk in.  
Instantly, Killer's eyelights would be glued on the Creator, never letting him out of his sight for a moment. His magic would flare in his socket, enabling him to form an attack in the worst case scenario. Fresh would cower behind Killer, trying to... hide... from Ink's line of sight. Both skeletons would have a tense smile on their skull, Killer's threatening to twist into a snarl at any moment. Ink never seemed to notice anything different about the air in the room (regardless of the atmosphere being so thick Dream was _absolutely sure_ if you tried to cut it, you would meet resistance), maybe pretending everything was fine, maybe just clueless to social cues. Or both.

The conversation, needless to say, didn't continue for long after that.

Killer and Horror just became very strained and... potentially violent whenever Ink was in the vicinity. Fresh looked for the nearest Dark Sans to hide behind. Dust and Cross just glared and refused to say anything. And Error outright refused to be in the same room as Ink, teleporting away to a different place, injuries or no.

The Star Sanses had also learned not to startle any member of the Dark Sanses, each one of them having a different reaction to being surprised.

Killer would flare his eyelight and hold a bone attack at your throat.  
Horror would hold his axe at your chest.  
Dust would throw a knife at you (purposefully missing any vital organs, but still).  
Cross would teleport away and start to summon a Gaster Blaster.  
Fresh would... it wasn't teleportation, exactly? He would kind of glitch? Dream didn't think Fresh could work his magic right whenever he was angry or scared...  
And Error would just tie you up with his strings, predictably.

You couldn't really blame them, could you? They were all in a new environment, with their former worst enemies in the same house. Caution, even paranoia, was to be expected.

It wasn't their fault. Everything they had been put through really wasn't their fault.

Dream wasn't condoning their behavior. They had still murdered, stolen, and attacked people. But they really had no other choice. They couldn't be valued members of society because the rules were twisted and strict, so they broke the rules and made their own.

It was... rather sad, but they didn't want anyone's pity. They just wanted to live their own lives for once.

"Dream!"

The Guardian of Positivity snapped out of his reverie when someone hissed his name, one hand grasping the arm of the couch he was sitting on tightly.  
"U-uh, yeah? Sorry, got lost in thought..."

"Well, don't drop the vial, whatever you do," Ink snorted. "I'm not making another one of those. One took long enough, and used up way too much of my paints."

Dream looked down at Ink's lap, watching as he sketched out a flower in his notebook. "Ink, that better be a regular notebook--"

Ink groaned. "Good grief, Dream, yes, it's a regular notebook. It's too weird around here to try and make a few more AUs anyway."

"Mmm." Dream watched Ink for a bit longer as the petals of the flower were outlined. "Except for the one we needed?"

"Except for that one," Ink affirmed. "Killer insisted on checking it out even before I did, something about not trusting us."  
He snorted. "If they don't trust us, why do they even stay? It's not like we're trapping them here!"

Dream sighed. This was what always happened. Ink would distance himself from the blame.  
"Ink, Nightmare is trapping them here. If they leave, they die."

Ink shrugged. "Error can't die, right? He'd be fine."

Dream inhaled sharply, then exhaled slowly. He couldn't believe this. Ink was just--  
He slipped the vial he was holding into a pouch Error had stitched onto his scarf. It was still a surprise that the Destroyer of Universes liked to knit and sew. Horror liked to cook, Cross liked to draw, Killer enjoyed reading, and Dust liked video games. Fresh just liked cuddling with his friends.  
They weren't to blame for any of this. Not really. All they wanted was to live their own lives with their family in peace.

And Ink couldn't see that.

The Guardian of Positivity stood up, walking to the front door.

"Where are you going?" Ink's voice rang out from the living room.

Dream responded with fake cheer. "Just need some fresh air!"  
_And some time away from you._

********************

Everyone was gathered in the middle of the living room, just like on the first day the Dark Sanses came to the Doodle Sphere. The atmosphere was just as tense.

"Alright, guys, everyone is clear on the plan?" Blue was trying to take charge and distract everyone from their animosity.

Unanimous nods.

"Ink, you made the AU, right?" the skeleton's star-shaped eyelights blinked toward the Creator, who was sitting on an armchair by himself, arms crossed.

"Of course I did," he scoffed, managing to sound insufferable, obnoxious, and offended at the same time. "I even made all the changes we needed. I used a regular Undertale!001 template to make it easier on myself, but all the necessary stuff is there. The coding will weaken once I change it to where Nightmare himself can get in, but until then, to him it's impenetrable."

"Until _Nightmare_ can get in..?" Dust frowned. That was a pretty big loophole.

Ink's scowl deepened.  
"It takes months to adjust an AU to where only a few people can get in," he growled. "The Doodle Sphere took us- _me_ \-- years to make! I don't know who, if anyone, Nightmare has working for him now. So the best we can do is lock Nightmare out and hope his hypothetical minions aren't too hard to handle."

Killer placed a hand on Dust's shoulder.  
"I don't like it either, Dusty, but it's the only chance we've got," he sighed. "It's this or nothing."

"So are we ready now?" Ink demanded, rolling his eyes. "Or would you rather take another half-hour for touching speeches?"

"We can go now," Error said, gritting his teeth. "We're only waiting on you."

Ink stood up, stretching insufferably before pulling his paintbrush from its sheath on his back, letting black paint form on its tip. He swiped it through the air, watching as reality warped in its wake to open up a swirling portal. He backed away as the surface fluctuated and swirled, showing colors and shapes too blurry to make out.

"Well, here it is," Ink said, turning to look at the others. "What are you waiting for?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D GOT A PATREON UP AND RUNNIN'
> 
> Here's the link if you guys wanna sign up!
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/pitchblackwings
> 
> It's called PitchBlackPublishing. Because I am ever so creative with names. ^^'  
> You'll be able to have access to illustrations for my works, drabbles that I didn't post on my AO3 account, early chapter snippets and more!
> 
> I will however still be updating my work(s) on AO3 regularly. This would just be an opportunity to get access to some extra stuff and help me out :3
> 
> also HAPPY VALENTINES DAY for those of you who celebrate it! ^^


	28. The Last Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **The Players Enter the Battlefield!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Beta Reader/Editor
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

The AU Ink had created was... surprisingly normal.

Nobody knew what to expect, but apparently Ink really had simply modified a basic, empty Undertale!001 AU. There were a lot more trees, a lot more places to hide, and supposedly Ink had also created the specific place they wanted to use to lure Nightmare to. That was, if he had gotten the coding correct. Error would say that nobody could ever be that stupid (coding was a simple thing to do if you knew how, it was just very time consuming), but if Ink had taught him one thing, it was not to underestimate his idiocy.

At the moment, everyone was simply trying to get to the designated place, in the middle of Snowdin. Why it had to be Snowdin and not someplace warmer ~~that didn't remind him of the Antivoid~~ , Dream didn't know, but apparently Ink simply didn't care about the cold. Or the warmth. Dream would probably assume that Ink didn't care about anything at this point, including basic hygiene, but he didn't know about that. Dream didn't know anything about Ink anymore. His entire world was just flipped over, and back, and over, and back, like an energetic kid shaking a snow globe.

They were at a brisk trot, trying to stay warm. Apparently cold temperatures were a thing now, and since his outfit only did so much against the chill, they were forced to speed up to keep their magic temperatures flowing.

"Are we almost there yet, Ink?"  
Dream didn't even want to talk to Ink right now, but it was unavoidable. Maybe once this blew over if they weren't all dead or imprisoned and Nightmare didn't take over the Multiverse and end life as they knew it he could ask to stay with the Dark Sanses? Maybe that would help their bad reputation? It really wasn't their fault, was it? They were just doing what they had to, and the Multiverse wanted their dust scattered across the Void for it. ~~It wasn't fair.~~

"Not YET, Dreamy," Ink responded, voice unnaturally cheery when he spoke to the Guardian of Positivity. "We're still about TEN MINUTES away at our current speed, and we can't teleport here unless it's to go OFF-AU. It's part of the PROGRAMMING."

Killer stared at Ink. "Are you having a stroke? What the heck is wrong with your voice, you swallow a Disney princess?"

Ink's only response was a snarl as he picked up the pace.

*****

After about five minutes of brisk jogging, Killer held up a hand.

"There's something over there."

Ink looked at him as if he were crazy. "Like what? Trees? Dirt? I made this AU, there should be no anomalies."

"Well, then," Killer snapped, pointing down a gradual slope to the treeline. "I sure hope that a large amount of _black ooze_ is a part of your AU's blueprints, then!"

Ink paused. "It is NOT. That's an anomaly. How strange."

Killer resisted the irresistable urge to roll his eyes and stab something at the same time. ~~Preferrably both aimed at Ink.~~

"SO! Who's going to verify?" Ink's voice had once again taken that false happy tone. "I vote one of YOU GUYS do it!"

"I'll check it out," Horror offered in a whisper. "I hope it isn't alive, though..."

"Well then, go on," Ink snapped. "We don't have all day."

Horror narrowed his eyes, annoyed. "I don't take orders from you."

Ink glanced at Error. "Well?"

After a reluctant (and very annoyed) nod from Error, Horror stepped closer to the thing, keeping his footsteps silent as he approached the the 'thing' in a roundabout way, finally stopping within four feet of the black tar.

A tentative poke with his blade sent slow ripples through the mass of ooze. Horror frowned, raising his axe and swinging it down, watching as the weapon sank into the substance.  
He tried to pull it out, but there was resistance he didn't expect. He placed his foot at the edge of the puddle for added leverage as he yanked at his axe.

The black ooze pooled towards his slipper, pulling him towards it.

"The thing's alive!!"  
Horror gave one last strained pull and teleported back to the others, clutching his axe as he watched the puddle of tar begin to shift. "That thing is alive!"

"Watch out, then," Error cautioned. "It's probably one of Nightmare's new lackeys."

Everyone watched as the tar began to rise and sink, flowing upwards into the rough form of something. Four pillars for legs with sharp, jagged edges for claws... a sinuous body dripping black, viscous liquid... a head with a gaping maw filled with pointed fangs... and two pinpricks of red light, fixating on the skeletons.

"It's... a wolf?" Cross's voice was low as he stared at the dripping mass of black substance. "It looks like a wolf."

"It's dangerous," Horror affirmed. "whatever it even is."

The 'wolf' took a few wobbling steps before charging at the group of monsters, legs elongating and retracting unnaturally, almost as if they were made out of living clay.

Killer formed a row of bone attacks and shot them rapid-fire at the thing as it ran at them, stabbing at least a few dozen sharp red bones into the face, legs, and hide of the wolf, whatever it was made of.

The wolf gave a haunting howl, faltering and stumbling in its charge, falling to the ground, spasms running through its body.

"This is one of Nightmare's lackeys?" Ink snorted condescendingly. "I've seen lamed humans who fight better."

"It may not be dead, Ink," Blue warned cautiously.

"Please," Ink huffed, walking over to the wolf's body. "It's dead. It took at least thirty bone attacks head-on. What kind of creature lives after that?"  
He kicked the mound of tar that made up the beast, punctuating his statement.

The wolf's head shot up and snapped onto his foreleg.

"ARGHLEHSHSJFKHAHDKSH?!?!?!"  
Ink whacked the wolf with the blunt end of his paintbrush to dislodge the sharp teeth from his bones, teleporting away to the others as quickly as possible.

"Ink?!" Blue stared at his leg. There was a ring of uneven black-tinged wounds on his right one. "What happened??"

"It's still alive is what happened," Killer said grimly, glaring at Ink. "We tried to warn you. The thing has at least some intelligence, to be able to play dead like that..."  
His antics may have been funny any other day, but if he was seriously injured now, it put the entire plan in danger. Just because he was a God didn't mean he was invulnerable.

Error watched as the wolf's body... dissolved... the bone attacks, standing up and preparing to charge with no retained damage.

"Physical attacks aren't very effective, obviously," He growled.

"Couldn't you just tie it up?" Cross queried, eyelights never leaving the tar-like beast in front of them.

"I'll try, but it'll probably just slip right through," Error said. "You'd have to use a different range attack, one that doesn't stab it and leave punctures."

Blue strings shot out of the destroyer's fingertips, wrapping around the wolf several times, trussing it up. The beast howled and began to struggle.

"Hurry," Error grunted. "It'll get free soon. It's not solid; it's trying to slip through my strings."

Killer raised a hand, forming three Gaster Blasters and pointing them at the wolf. Horror copied his actions, and both skeletons flung their hands forwards at the same time, sending blasts of raw energy at the beast Error had imprisoned.

The wolf howled, sounding more like a gurgling scream. The sound sent shivers down the Monster's spines.

The beams continued for about two seconds before the Blasters faded out of existence, and the skeletons lowered their hands, watching warily at the place the wolf had been.

Error clenched his hands experimentally, looking at the smoking body of the wolf. "I think it's dead."

"Are you sure?" Blue stared at the beast as well.

"Look at its eyes. The red pupils are gone," the glitch explained, retracting his strings carefully. "It's not dripping anymore, either, as far as I can see. It's dead. As dead as that thing can be, at least."

Horror teleported to the ooze-wolf's side cautiously, poking it with his axe again. There was no give. The viscous substance that made up the beast had hardened into a malformed statue-like object, broken and twisted jaws open in a final wail, eyes black and dull.

"It's dead," he confirmed, walking back to the others to conserve magic. "The Blasters did the trick."

"Good to know," Killer said, eyes still trained on the wolf's body. "Anybody have any idea what that thing was?'

Error shrugged. "Never seen anything like it."

"So we're going in blind, basically," Ink growled. This wasn't good.

"We know what can kill a wolf-thing, at least," Dream pointed out. "That's something."

"But what if there isn't a wolf-thing? What if there's something else?" Ink crossed his arms. "This really doesn't help our situation."

"Speculation isn't going to help," Dust pointed out, glaring. "And the longer we wait, the more time Nightmare might have to summon help."

Blue was still staring at Ink. "How's your leg?"

The colorful skeleton blinked several times before looking down at his leg. "Oh."  
The wounds were still there, angry and red against his white bones. The black ooze the wolf had left had solidified, leaving him with sharp objects impaled in the bone. "Uh... not exactly good..."

"Great," Error growled. "Just peachy. Blue, can you heal him?"

Blue looked up. "Uh, sure, but why me?"

"Because we all _suck at healing_ ," Cross pointed out. "And Dream is more powerful, so we need to reserve his magic. Ink can't use his own because it takes more effort and would tire him out. We need to play this smart. As in _not walking right up to enemies we aren't sure are dead_ ," he added, narrowing his eyes at Ink.

"Sure, just gang up on me, why don't you," Ink grumbled, watching as Blue crouched down and activated his healing magic, healing the surface wounds. "No wonder nobody wants to be around you 'Dark Sanses', reputation or no."

The Dark Sanses bristled, glaring at him. "I'm surprised anybody wants to be around _you_ with that kind of mouth and personality," Error growled.

_Can we just NOT have an argument started by Ink for five minutes...?_ Dream sighed. He was tired of trying to play the peacekeeper. Ink simply didn't care about angering the others. And that kind of "I'll just let the world burn" attitude was very annoying. Not to mention counterproductive. "Why don't we just... move on? Aren't we running out of time?"

Cross nodded. "We have at best a twenty-minute window left. Blue, how's it going?"

"He'll still be in pain," the small skeleton said, frowning as he stood up. "But I healed up most of the deeper gashes. Couldn't get the shards of... whatever that stuff is... out, though. That'll have to happen later, it's already hardened and everything. Best I could do on such short notice."

"Good enough," Killer said firmly. "You can walk, let's get going."

Ink glowered at him, debating on whether or not to argue before simply walking to the front of the group.  
"Fine. It's this way."

They walked through the woods, keeping an eye on their surroundings. After the wolf-thing attacked them earlier, nobody was taking any chances. Dream noticed that Fresh was probably the jumpiest, and the Dark Sanses had (whether intentionally or instinctively, he didn't know) let him travel in the middle of the group, making sure he was covered.

After about ten minutes of brisk walking (with Ink mumbling things under his breath the entire time. Dream couldn't even understand what he was saying. Ink didn't normally talk to himself...), they reached a large clearing in the middle of the dense forest.

"Alright," Ink said, keeping his voice low (but not bothering to keep the scorn out of it), "Everyone clear on the plan?"

"Yes. You're going to release the firewall keeping this AU hidden, and Nightmare's going to show up at this spot since you're going to program it as the only teleportable spot." Horror's eyelights were narrowed. "One of Nightmare's lackeys already got in, though, so he may already be here."

"We're not sure what that was," Ink scoffed. "It could've simply been a glitch. I've never had to make an AU so fast before, after all. Or it could be working, and only Nightmare's soldiers could get in. there's really no guarantee, so stop assuming."

"It's called paranoia," Error growled, "And it's _wise_ considering Nightmare is the most dangerous foe you'll probably ever battle. He's cunning, powerful, and is holding nothing back right now. He gets all of us out of the way, then his path to power is clear. We need to assume the worst and prepare for such."

Ink huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Fine. You ready?"

Everyone nodded once, turning to face the clearing.

Ink opened a viewing-portal to the code of the AU, removing a few angry red numbers and symbols locking it away, shuffling the codes a bit and adding new parts to it, making sure everything would work with no bugs or glitches. There had already been one maybe-anomaly, he didn't need another...

"Alright, it's done," Ink said, closing the portal. "He should be here any minute now, if he's watching for any suspicious activity. And a new AU that he can't enter is probably very suspicious."

Cross nodded.  
"Nightmare had a few main personality traits we could always count on back when he was... still himself. He might have changed, but I don't think he lost his paranoia. He'll be here."

Ink scoffed. "He had better. I spent a lot of time on an AU that's just going to get trashed. It better not be for nothing."

Everyone glared at Ink, even Blue, who seemed quite upset over his priorities. "Isn't the possibility of catching Nightmare worth an hour of work, Ink?"

"Well, yeah," Ink said, crossing his arms. "But that doesn't mean I can't be upset about losing that work. I put a lot of time into that AU just to know it's going to get destroyed.

There was a moment of tense silence. Ink wasn't... he wasn't wrong, exactly, but surely there were much more pressing things to worry about?  
~~Or was Ink's mindset just so warped that he literally couldn't focus on the things that mattered?~~

There was a sharp snapping, glitching sound from the clearing, among the stone pillars that Ink had coded to be the only teleportable place in the AU right now. Everyone's attention shot to the growing black rift in reality that had formed.

"I thought you said earlier we were supposed to get a warning at least five minutes in advance," Error hissed furiously, strings dancing on the tips of his fingers.

"We were," Ink said, voice finally beginning to convey a bit of panic. "He must have overridden the firewalls without actually coming inside the AU..."

"Can't do anything about it now," Dream said in an angry whisper-shout. "Just be on guard. Get me close."

There really wasn't any more time to talk after that.

They were expecting something to come from the portal, but instead, the portal itself shifted and warped, folding in on itself and becoming a mass of black ooze almost like they had seen earlier.  
Almost.

This tar was much thicker, darkened to the point to where it almost wasn't even black anymore, but a complete void of any color. Like Nightmare's ooze...

The whatever-it-was congealed on the ground in a considerably large puddle, rippling and swirling ominously. It just rippled there for a few seconds, doing nothing...

And then it began to move.

The puddle slipped and oozed, crawling forwards in a deceptively fast manner. it 'crawled' to the base of a stone obelisk in the ruins it had materialized next to, clinging to the base before somehow flowing upwards, slithering to the very peak of the ginormous pillar before stopping, simply resting on the wide surface on top.

Everyone was extremely tense at this point, having more than a little hunch on what/who this thing was. Weapons were drawn, magic was crackling, prepared to be released at any moment.

The black ooze began to grow, taking form. Or rather, two forms, as it solidified and twisted itself in half, becoming two separate bodies. The entire transformation was very sudden, leaving the skeletons somewhat shocked.

As expected, Nightmare was standing on top of the monolith, glaring down at them. But there was someone something else with him, too. A giant version of the tar-wolf they had seen earlier, but much bigger, almost twice as big as Nightmare himself, with the same burning red eyes as the other wolf. It was somehow clinging to the side of the pillar with two back paws as well as resting its front ones on the top. _Maybe it was because of the substance that seemed to make up the creature?_

_How did Nightmare even make that? Did he even make that??_ Dream was so confused, not to mention very wary of this new contender. _Never seen anything like it before, so that means Ink didn't make it, probably... it's bigger than Nightmare, how did he make that much corruption and make it be ALIVE, what under Earth is going on here-_

He mentally shook himself out of his train of thought. This wasn't helping.

Killer took initiative.  
"This stops today, Nightmare," He declared, stepping forwards and half-shouting up to the pillar, watching the corrupted skeleton for any aggressive moves. "If you even are Nightmare anymore. You can't escape."

Nightmare simply tilted his head to one side as if curious.

"Why would I wish to leave? All the people I would love to kill, all in one place... some would call it a golden opportunity, hm?"

Dream scowled, yelling at him angrily.  
"You're not killing anyone today!"

"Yeah," Ink ground out, hands clenching his hands around his paintbrush even tighter, acidic red paint dripping off of the tip and hissing as it hit the ground. "I made this AU specifically to trap you here, and we're going to finish this, one way or the other, today."

Nightmare rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face. Oh, they were certainly going to finish this today...

"Wow, Ink," the dripping skeleton hissed sarcastically. "You really haven't gotten any smarter, have you? Even after all these years..."

The hulking wolf's gaze never faltered, burning red smoke slipping from its eyes as it stared at the skeletons.

"It really never occurred to you that whilst **you** were preparing a trap for **me**..."

The bushes and trees around the group began to rustle softly as other wolves came into view, each one of them with the same murderous red eyes and dripping with corruption. Chills ran down the skeleton's spines as the creatures flowed in and out of the shadows, the only thing giving them any target being the pinpricks of ruby light in the darkness. There were easily twenty wolves that Dream could count, including the giant one by Nightmare's side. They were outnumbered. Their banter had allowed them to be surrounded, playing right into Nightmare's hands... ~~Or had the wolves already been there, watching, waiting for a signal to strike...?~~ How were they supposed to fight all of these? The wolf in the city might not even have really been dead, just stunned! And there were so many... too many to keep track of all at once. ~~It was insanity.~~

Nightmare smirked from his perch on the ancient-looking stone obelisk, eye narrowing. He had planned all of this. They hadn't been the ones in charge. _He had planned for this to happen, all of it..._

"That **I** might be setting a trap for **you?** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Error: You can't _POSSIBLY_ be _THAT_ stupid
> 
> Ink, holding up a finger with a solemn expression: Don't underestimate me.
> 
> GOT A PATREON UP AND RUNNIN'
> 
> Here's the link if you guys wanna sign up!
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/pitchblackwings
> 
> It's called PitchBlackPublishing. Because I am ever so creative with names. ^^'  
> You'll be able to have access to illustrations for my works, character sheets, early chapter snippets and more!
> 
> I will however still be updating my work(s) on AO3 regularly. This would just be an opportunity to get access to some extra stuff :3


	29. Karmatic Retribution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for some good old KR! :D
> 
> Writers block hit heavy this chapter... oof... sorry for the wait!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare now having eyebrows is frustrating. Can we just, like, grab some sharpies and scribble on there a bit or something??
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Chapter Editor/Beta Reader
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

Nightmare smirked as the wolves surrounded the skeleton Monsters below. Everything had gone according to plan.

Of _course_ everything had gone as he wished. His brother was pitifully predictable, and he knew exactly how his former minions thought.

So of _course_ he knew they were going to place a trap for him. Making a new "fake" Science!Tale to make him feel threatened, then planning for him to show up to destroy it so there wouldn't be a cure made from Science!Tale's Sans. The entire idea revolved around there already being a 'cure' that they were going to try to administer, either a way to kill him or a way to adjust his mental state.

Well, he had planned for that too. How would they be able to give him a cure if they couldn't get within fifty meters of him? His wolves would take care of them, and once his minions had gotten the cure safely back to him, he would take the privilege of killing the meddlesome skeletons himself. Except for Error and Ink, of course, but the rest would die. And by his hands.

He glanced at the gigantic wolf standing next to him. All of this had gone so much better than he could have hoped...

******

_  
_

__

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_The glowing Soul ghost- Frisk- floated in the air, a few feet off of the ground._

__

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_'So... you're saying you can MAKE me a body to fight with...?'_

__

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_Nightmare nodded, flexing his tentacles and waving them back and forth.  
_ _"To be honest, I haven't done this in ages. But yes, I should be able to make you a body. All you'll need to do is possess it."_

____

____

____

____

_'But what are you going to make it out of?'_

__

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__

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_"With what I have available." Nightmare formed extra tendrils, grabbing and twisting them, ripping several thick tentacles away from his back, wincing slightly. It had been a long time since that had happened._

__

_He watched as the tendrils slowly melted, losing form and becoming a mound of tar-like liquid on the floor, bubbling and rippling ominously. Nightmare kneeled down and gathered some of the ooze in his hands, sculpting and shaping it absentmindedly. Maybe a wolf? Wolves were good. Tigers were too complicated, and he wanted something threatening._

__

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_The tar slowly began to form into a dripping mass resembling a wolf. Nightmare had poured plenty of magic into it, though, so it ought to work as planned. Kind of like programming, but more abstract._

__

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_Right now, though, the tar-wolf was nothing more than an empty husk._

__

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_"There you go, then," the skeleton said, standing up and brushing his hands together as if wiping off dust. "Try it out."_

__

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_'...How am I supposed to do that...?'_

__

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_"How am I supposed to know?" Nightmare was becoming slightly annoyed. "Possess it somehow. Fly into it or something. Intent should do the trick if I programmed it right."_

__

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_Frisk nodded shakily, floating over to the mass of tar and waving a hand through it._

__

_' ...It feels weird.'  
_

__

__

____

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_"Who cares what it feels like?" Nightmare was definitely annoyed by now. "Hurry up."_

__

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_Another nod, and Frisk float-crawled into the space that the mound of tar took up._

__

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_There was silence. No noise, no movement. The red glow was gone._

__

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_Then, the tar-wolf's eyes opened, revealing pricks of red light that trailed burnt amber smoke._

__

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_Nightmare was internally delighted, although he wouldn't show it. It had worked! He finally had something useful for his situation! "Well, how does it feel?"_

____

____

_The wolf's mouth opened and closed, revealing razor sharp misshapen objects that were probably teeth. Not a single noise was made._

__

__

_"Good, so you can't speak. Makes it much less of a headache."_

__

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_He ignored the silent protests Frisk made, looking over his now animated work. It would be perfect for what he had in mind._

__

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_"If you would stop for about five minutes, I'll tell you how to use the body," Nightmare said, amusement heavy in his voice. The wolf stopped opening and shutting its mouth sporadically, staring at him in a mixture of skepticism and curiosity._

__

__

_"Okay, so first, you need to learn how to multiply..."_

******

Nightmare had taught Frisk how to multiply (within reason, about thirty was their max), how to harden their goop, and how to slip through cracks by liquefying their body. They were the perfect silent killing machine- other than himself, of course.

But he hadn't told them a few things.

Frisk _couldn't_ disobey him. It had obviously been their plan from the start, so Nightmare had programmed the body they were inhabiting to be loyal to him no matter what, so Frisk's guaranteed plan to betray him would backfire. He had also put in a 'self destruct' option, in case Frisk did manage to override anything else he had created to try and help his opponents.

Because it sure did look like they needed help at the moment.

Every one of them was fighting, even Fresh ~~why did he feel worried? And proud? Why was this nonsense happening?~~.

Ah, well. It didn't make any difference, after all. They would all be dust in the wind in an hour at most. Except for the two Gods and Dream, of course. Optimally, both Error and Ink would be dead, but unfortunately, there was no possible way for that to become a reality that he could see at the moment.

\---

Ink was... struggling.

The wolves were tenacious, and they hadn't all sprung at once. About half of the wolves by his estimate had jumped out when Nightmare had given the signal, leaving the other half to prowl the woods, waiting for an opening when they were needed. This resulted in a swarm of wolves, wounded ones retreating to take cover and recover somewhat while fresh ones took their place.

It was a losing battle.

If they had gotten more reinforcements- but no, that would have been impossible, too many people and Nightmare would have sensed their emotions and life forces and smelled the trap, and he would have gotten something to combat that too.

The Creator brandished his paintbrush haphazardly, swinging it with vicious intent at the wolves threatening his friends and... not-currently-enemies, picking one up with the force of the blow and throwing it back. Another wolf instantly leapt forwards to take its place, baring its teeth and trying to rake its claws down Ink's bones.

He jabbed at it, forcing the beast back with the tip of his brush, glaring at the stone structure Nightmare was perched upon. The coward wasn't even fighting them himself, instead simply watching with the gigantic wolf at his side.

If they could just get to him, then the wolves would scatter, right? If their alpha died, they would probably retreat.

Ink swung his brush in a circle, spreading acidic paint on the ground and keeping the wolves at bay with well-timed slashes of the tip.  
"ERROR!!"

Said skeleton turned towards Ink for a fraction of a second- all he could afford without being overtaken. Which was admittedly more than others- Error's strings were very helpful for keeping the tar-wolves at bay, if only for a fraction of a second before they melted through the magical threads. "WHAT?!"

"I'M GOING TO GET TO NIGHTMARE! COVER ME!" Ink was trying to multitask, whacking the beasts away from his person while screaming at the top of his lungs. _Screw_ subtlety, they didn't have the time to bother with that right now.

Error paused before nodding once, raising a hand and extending his strings to temporarily entangle the wolves trying to rip Ink apart, forming Gaster Blasters above his head and beaming them down at the hostile beasts, stunning them at the very least and earning the other a few seconds of reprieve from the tenacious creatures. "GO!"

"I'M GOING!!" Ink lunged forwards, dodging with all the dexterity of an agitated Sans as he rapidly approached Nightmare's perch, shoving wolves out of the way and ducking or jumping over attacking beasts.

He launched himself into the air, swinging his brush at Nightmare himself viciously at the peak of his jump.  
The other skeleton seemed surprised that he was able to reach him, just barely dodging the blow and jumping back, off of the pillar.

Nightmare snarled as he landed, tentacles thrashing agitatedly. _Stupid paint splotch._

The giant wolf landed next to him, taking slightly longer to get back onto its feet.

_Will I take care of it?_

Ink cringed at the empty tone that sounded in his mind. It was altogether much too similar to the other voice in his head....

~~**Well, that's flattering.** ~~

__

Shut up, I'm listening to Nightmare and the psychic wolf, you haven't helped one bit yet!

**~~Hmmm. Fine. Not like I can help much in this aspect anyway.~~ **

"No," Nightmare replied suddenly, making Ink startle a bit as he leapt down to the ground to be at eye level with his enemy. "I'll take care of him myself. Help the others."

 _Certainly.  
_ The wolf turned away, running back to the battleground Ink had just left to confront Nightmare.

Ink turned back to the dripping skeleton, narrowing his eyes in concentration and hatred before dashing forwards, taking a vicious swipe with his brush.  
Nightmare jumped backwards, snarling as he deflected the attack with his tentacles, snapping them like whips to shove the weapon off its course.

Ink lunged again, this time letting acidic paint spray through the air, aimed at his enemy's face.

The other simply ducked and stepped to the side, dodging the attack with feigned ease.

Ink scowled and began to launch a close-ranged attack, stabbing and slashing with his brush aggressively. "Why are you doing this?! What do you even want?!"

Nightmare took a few hits and blocked the rest, taking advantage of a gap in his opponent's guard to slam a tentacle into his ribcage, shoving him backwards and stabbing at his bone, ripping the Creator's vest and letting the paint vials placed carefully inside tumble to the ground.  
Following up his advantage, Nightmare shot forwards, letting a tentacle reach out and grapple Ink's neck, squeezing tightly as another appendage ripped the weapon out of his hands.

Nightmare smirked as his tendril choked Ink. "You shouldn't have come here. You shouldn't have helped. I'm more dangerous than you ever could have expected, now."

"You can't kill me!" the Creator clawed at the appendage around his neck, roaring ferociously. "I'm just as immortal as you! I'll always come back!"

The dripping skeleton raised an eyebrow(?), grin widening menacingly as an idea came to mind. "Alright then. _Come_ back, if you **can.** "

He raised the tendrils holding Ink captive, swinging them around several times to gain momentum before letting go and watching as he shot through the air.

Ink closed his eyesockets, bracing for impact. He didn't see the portal open up underneath him, lined with Nightmare's magic, showing nothing but a space that was void of all color and light, or warmth, of air, of life.

~~**INK, STOP, MOVE, YOU'RE GOING TO FALL THROUGH! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN NOW, IT CAN'T=** ~~

The portal was opening to a void. _The_ Void.

Dream started forwards, fear and denial in his eyes, but he could tell he wouldn't make it. Killer grabbed his arm, pulling him back. Dream couldn't go up there. It was practically suicide. Whatever would happen, had to happen. They couldn't risk getting two of the three Immortals on their side killed with one blow.

Time seemed to come to a stop as everyone watched Ink's limp form fall through the portal into the expanse of the Void, vanishing instantly.

Nightmare looked absolutely delighted, waving a hand to close the portal.

There were a few seconds of absolute silence. The wolves were still, the skeletons were silent. Disbelief and shock were thick in the atmosphere.

"That was much easier than expected," the black skeleton said, tone malicious and smooth, much too smooth to be natural. His grin had something psychotic about it, his eyelight shining too sporadically to be sane. 

"Well then..."

**"Who's up next?"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **  
>  ~~No, no, nononononononononONONONONONONONO!!~~   
>  **
> 
> **  
> ~~You weren't supposed to die here! Not now! Not yet!~~  
> **
> 
> **  
>   
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>   
> **
> 
> **  
>   
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> **  
>   
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> 
> ****~~I̷̝͕̞̙͖̪͙̰̼̫̦͈̠͚̰̊͋͑̍͊̾̿͋͛̾̚ ̵̧̖̪͓̤̬͙͚͙̬̲̬̭̪͓̻̞̫̬̪̱́̊͆̀͛̓̐͆̿͗͋͛̕͝͝͝ W̵̧̢̡̞͖̝̮̻͙̤̹͍̗̔̂̇͝͝ͅO̵̧̧̨͓̥͙̥̦̿̓̑́̉̎͜͝N̵̨̡̧̛͍̰̟̝̥̯̖͇͍͇͖̔́̀̈́̽̓̄̊̆͑̈́̕͜'̸̧̙̣̘̬̻͎̳̮̭̮͔͓̲̬͖͙͈͍̈́̅͊̓̓͋̊̈́̿̓͜͝Ṭ̵̢̰̟̦͍̦͇̘͚̞̳̉͊͂̒̐̈́̈́͐̆̿̎̄͛̈́̿͒̔͋̂̚̕͝ͅ ̵̧̙̮̖͚͇͈̣͙̣̫̲͕͔̣͔͎̩̳̯̪̲͇͇̈́̓ L̷̡͉̞̺͌̽̾͐̓̿́Ḛ̵̡̫̘̼̳̲͙̞̰͎͓̼̯̋͌̃̊̆̍̑̽͒̎͋̿̄̂͊̏̒̔ͅT̶̛̮̰͈̦̼̫̝͕̙̦̙͕̀͒͗̋̈̐̓͗͌̄͛̑̒̂͛̔͑̊͌͂͘ ̴̢̡̧͚͕̹͕̱̬̮̭̙̞̬̖̩̦̞͈͚̖͈̠́̉̃͛̃̃͊̈́̄͌̍́͊͌̈́̚̕͝͝Y̴̡̢̢̫̜͇̭͖̜̞̣͓̠̊̃̍̉̋̽̓͒͒̋̈͊͐̇̚͜͝O̷̖͔̝͔̟̘͍͊̏͗̈́̑̀͒̈́̈͒̏͗͌̕͘Ù̵͇̜̹̠̱̱̮̙̓̏̓͌͐̄̓̅̔̃̏̀̚͜͝͝͝ ̷̨̬̟̦̫̰͚̫͖̖̗̘͚̤̘̟̟͔̭̪̙̄̉́̊́͜͜ Ḑ̷͉̤̬̝͓̎͛̚͜͜Į̴̛͈̟͇͕̺͙̻͉̄̑̄̄̔͑̏͠͝E̵̡͇̩͓̼̳͚͔̮̖̳͎̱̗̹͍͉͔̻͈̯͉͊̆̈́̋̉̽̂̊͑̄̓͌̃̋̋̊̓̕͝͝~~  
>  (Any comments or theories? LAY EM ON ME as we are indeed nearing the end! :3)


	30. Not Technically A Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 'chapter' announcement that brings dread to all readers....

Announcement:

ALN (A Living Nightmare) is on hiatus.

Sorry to all of you who LOVE LOVE LOVE the book, but.... yeah.

NOPE SORRY JUST KIDDING AS IF I WOULD PUT ANOTHER WORK ON HIATUS

But seriously tbh there is a TON of chaos going on in my life rn, I'm just juggling so much and....yeah. It's not going on hiatus, but it WILL be longer between updates for... most if not all of the works that I am a part of editing/writing for. Hopefully all of this nonsensical craziness blows over soon and I can get back to writing whenever I feel like it.

But today is not that day.

So YES it's still going to be updating, just.... a lot less often for the time being.

LIFE THREW AN ENTIRE LEMON TREE AT ME THIS TIME BUT IS THAT GONNA STOP ME????? 

N O ! !

So yeah.  
Super happy for you guy's patience and understanding!

(And no, I do not have the COVID-19 virus, nor do any of my family. And I hope none of you guys do, either!)

Stay safe and have fun, guys! Wash your hands often!

Again, thank you for being understanding. I'm really sorry (and kind of disappointed in myself) that I have to announce/do this, but it can't really be helped unless I cut sleep out of my schedule, and I value my sanity, so.... yep.

I'll see you guys in the comments or in the next work I publish/update, though!

-PitchBlackWings


	31. Last Resort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink has been thrown into the Void. An Immortal has been thrown into the Void.
> 
> Nightmare has just thrown an Immortal into the Void, _likely killing him._
> 
> ...What _ever_ shall they do now?
> 
> xXUndertale_LoverXx - Much Appreciated Editor/Beta Reader
> 
> PitchBlackWings - Chapter Author

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL THIS CORONAVIRUS IS GOING WIIIILD
> 
> And while it may be H I L A R I O U S to watch a crowd of grown adults mobbing a dude trying to restock the toilet paper isle... it's getting reeeaaal awkward. Stay safe, please!

Nightmare laughed manically after a short pause.

"Ink is _finally_ dead. I've killed your best fighter, Dream! F4TE's own Chosen is dust in the Void! **Perhaps you all want to join him?** "

Everyone stared at the black skeleton in horror. As much as Dream hated Ink at the moment, he was necessary for the plan to work! Nightmare killing Ink wasn't a part of ANY plan! It shouldn't have even been possible to teleport to the Void or open a portal there!

...But Nightmare's powers connected to cold, negativity, and darkness... and the Void had at least two of those...

Dream hadn't thought of this. Of _any_ of this. Everything revolved around Ink and Error and himself being alive, not dead!

"Well?" Nightmare's voice was nothing if not triumphant. "Are you going to surrender, or am I going to have to finish what I started?"

Nobody spoke. They were too far in to run away now. Nightmare could use one of his 'wolves' to potentially follow them back to the Doodle Sphere, and then everything would have been useless. If they didn't stop him now, there would be nothing left for anyone to fight for. It was all or nothing now.

Nightmare hummed.

"So it's the hard way, then?"

The only response was a collective adjustment of posture from the other skeletons, readying themselves for battle.

Nightmare shrugged, raising his arm and bringing it down, signaling to the tar-wolves that they could attack again. "Very well."

And then suddenly it was all back to the battle, no time for tears or anger, just dodging, swinging, fighting will all of Dream's willpower and strength against a tidal wave of enemies.

Dream was on autopilot at this point, swinging his staff while his mind reeled, clicking like a broken record.  
_Ink is gone. Ink is gone. Ink is gone._

The one constant in his life, the annoying, flamboyant, ~~quite possibly evil~~ , colorful skeleton, who had been there for him since the apples had been destroyed.... was just... _gone_? Just like that?

It was too unbelievable to be true.

A tar-wolf managed to sink its teeth into Dream's weapon, shaking him out of his thoughts as he yanked it away, bringing it back down on the beast's head.

Yet another wolf jumped in to take its place, snarling at the golden skeleton.

_I can't keep this up forever. They're cycling in and out, always coming back like new. It's endless...._

A wolf managed to dig its fangs into Dream's cloak, snarling as it tried to drag him down. Dream beat at it with his staff, but it was determined to bring the skeleton to the floor so that the other wolves could join the attack.

In a blur of blue strings, Error grabbed the wolf and yanked it away, stunning it with a Blaster. The glitch grabbed Dream by his now-tattered scarf and hoisted him to his feet.

"You can't die," he grunted, giving the Guardian of Positivity a quick once-over before turning back to the wolves and forming more Blasters to keep them at bay. "You're the only one with the antidote. Why haven't you gotten closer to Nightmare so you can use it on him?"

"I--I've tried!" Dream huffed, regaining his footing and taking the chance Error's temporary protection was giving him to shoot more arrows at the wolves threatening the others. "But I can't get close enough, I have no idea how Ink managed it! He was supposed to weaken him so that I could finish him off!"

Error snarled as a wolf got past his Gaster Blaster defense, jumping back and impaling it with a stream of bone attacks and throwing it back. His focus was wavering. "Well, the idiot ink splotch is gone now, so you'll have to do it! I can get you close enough, but then it's up to you!"

Dream changed his bow into a staff again. "Why can't you do it? You're more powerful!"

"We've been over this!" Error snapped, sending out several waves of bones at some of the wolves attacking the rest of the gang and Blueberry. "Your aura will weaken his, and it's more likely the potion will be more effective if his aura is weaker! And he knows exactly how to beat me, we spar all the time! If I could defeat him, I would've done so ages ago!"

Dream nodded grimly. It really was up to him. If there was any other way... he'd never been able to beat his brother before.... But there wasn't another way. Today, he had to fight.

No, more than just fight.

He had to _win._

"Alright, cover me!" Dream gasped, crouching as he got ready to bolt into the open.  
Error readied his strings, forming five extra Blasters hovering above Dream's head. He glared at the other, tension and worry evident in his mismatched glare. "Don't die, you idiot!"

Dream couldn't respond to that, so he simply nodded.

"Ready?!" Error sent an extra barrage of bones and strings into the surrounding area, clearing the wolves away momentarily. Dream gave another shaking affirmative nod.

"Then _go!_ " Error sent out another blast from his Gaster Blasters, keeping the wolves at bay, if only barely.  
Dream jumped out of the circle of Blasters, leaping towards Nightmare's position at the top of the hill by going parallel to the forest, trying to stay out of his enemy's line of sight and take him by surprise.

Wolves jumped out at him from the shadows left and right, claws and teeth snapping and slashing at his bones and clothes. One sharp object scraped past his ankle, and he winced, forcing himself to go faster through the burning pain.

He tried to ignore the others, fighting in close-knit formations to try and keep the endless waves of enemies at bay. _I have to stop Nightmare. I can't stop to help them..._  


Dream inhaled deeply, using some of the tree cover to try and get into Nightmare's blind spot, which was rather large since he only had one eye. He hadn't noticed him as of yet....  
That was a precious shard of luck in and of itself...

~~He needed all the luck he could for this...~~

Exhaling sharply, he tossed caution to the wind and dashed away from the trees and the little security they gave him, raising his staff and reaching for the vial kept tucked near his collarbone.  


_  
Please, please, please... let this work....!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3
> 
>   
> Cliff hangers are so beautiful are they not?
> 
> Any theories, ideas, comments, praise, critcism? lemme know!
> 
> Sorry it's been a bit until I've posted anything. It's been _wild_ out here, and I've had a lot to do, even with the shelter-in-place order, surprisingly.... ^^'
> 
> STAY SAFE Y'ALL


	32. Darkness and Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers battle it out.
> 
> IM NOT DEAD IM JUST VERY VERY SORRY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOSH
> 
> EVERYTHING HAS BEEN
> 
> Cr Az Y
> 
> I LEGIT HAVENT HAD T I M E TO UPDATE THIS, EVERYTHING HAS BEEN INSANE AND VERY VERY ROUGH, AND I'M REALLY SORRY ABOUT THAT ;-;
> 
> STRESS GOT TO ME AND I'M SO GLAD I TOOK A BREAK THOUGH
> 
> HERES THE NEXT CHAPTER
> 
> JUST IGNORE MY RAMBLING
> 
> BUT YEAH SORRY ABOUT THAT

Dream jumped up, swinging his staff down and catching the corrupted Monster on the shoulder, even as Nightmare tried to dodge the blow. Dream brought the staff up again as he landed, aiming for the side of his brother's skull.

Nightmare ducked at the last moment, however, grabbing Dream's staff at the last moment with a tentacle and yanking up and over his shoulder, slamming Dream into the ground in front of him before jumping back to get some space, narrowing his eye to face his enemy.

Nightmare growled, raising his tentacles and bringing them down in front of him in violent stabbing motions, lunging forwards to where Dream was still trying to get up from being slammed into the hard earth on their makeshift battlefield.  


Dream just barely managed to get up, and jumped back at the last moment, dodging to the side as the tendrils caught on his cape, shredding the edges like a sharpened sword cutting tissue paper.

Dream winced slightly. _Better my clothes than me, I guess... How am I supposed to get close enough to apply the 'cure' without being murdered??_

He shot a quick barrage of arrows from short-range, sinking at least six into Nightmare's torso and tentacles, burning very painful holes into the corruption.  
Instead of reacting with even as much as a wince, Nightmare simply snarled viciously and wrapped a few tendrils around the projectiles, ripping them out of his makeshift flesh without so much as twitching, breaking each glowing arrow in half absentmindedly before dropping them to the ground.

Dream stared.  
_...I miiight just be a in bit of trouble..._

The black skeleton raised a hand and then brought it down, forming a multitude of black corruption shards and launching them through the air at his opponent with deadly speed.

Dream dodged most of the shards, ignoring the few scratches that burned at his bones like stinging salt in a wound as he charged towards his brother. He couldn't risk throwing the vial; he had to get close enough to ensure a direct hit. To throw away their only chance haphazardly would be foolish- and quite possibly fatal.

Nightmare frowned slightly, eyelight narrowing. Dream was certainly tenacious, but his stamina would only get him so far against a brutal opponent such as himself. 

What was he trying to do here? another one on one fight? Wasn't it obvious he was the stronger one? He had always been the stronger one, evenn when they were young.  


A strange feeling of loss filled Nightmare suddenly, taking him by surprise and leaving him open to be smacked in the skull by Dream's staff.

_  
What was that? What happened?_

He stumbled back before recovering, and quickly rained down even more corruption shards, keeping an eye on the rest of the battle in his peripheral vision. Nobody seemed to be able to teleport (himself included), so nobody would be able to sneak up on him as long as he paid attention.

Which meant no more distractions. These feelings were nothing more than illusions. All he had to do was fight for just a few minutes more, and then Dream would be gone. Then the rest of them would follow.

He brought a hand to his head in shock when a flaring headache appeared, screaming softly in his head. Protesting...?

He frowned, wincing slightly as he brought a hand to his face. The headache flared as he shook his head.

_  
_

_What's wrong with me...? I shouldn't care about any of this! Perhaps I simply need to rest after this battle... It's probably just fatigue…_

Dream, seeing his chance with Nightmare's distraction, leapt forwards, dodging some shards, ignoring others as the stinging pain from his various wounds intensified. It didn't matter. The vial was in his glove, ready to be used. He was almost there. Just a little more. Just a bit farther...

Nightmare's frown intensified to a glower, and he shook his head, growling, to get rid of his thoughts. The Guardian of Negativity shot forwards, his dripping, jagged tendrils taking Dream by surprise as he reached them forwards with deadly intent.

Dream tried to move mid-jump, but his first instinct was to teleport, and he was rewarded with a slight _Vrrrrrrrp!_ noise as he tried desperately to change his directory.

The AU's coding did its work, and Dream went nowhere.

In an instant, the golden-clad skeleton was impaled upon the sharpened appendages Nightmare was holding up, dangling in the air as Nightmare himself landed on his feet. Dream gasped in pain, suspended between broken ribs and ripped clothing, the latter of which was already becoming stained with a bright yellow liquid.

A trickle of golden magic spilled from Dream's jaw, running lazily through his teeth, staining the white bone. Involuntary shivers ran down his body, tensing at the burning intrusion of Nightmare's tendrils. 

His stabbed bones burned like hellfire, but it felt like ice was spreading from the wounds, slowly reaching up towards his Soul. He was weakening by the second.

Nightmare moved him down to his eye level.

"This will be the last time you ever get in my way, Guardian. Where is that bravery you are so well known for? Are you not going to plead for your life? Perhaps beg me to 'come back' to you as your brother again?"

Dream shivered more violently, trying to struggle, but even the slightest movement sent impossible pain through his body. Speaking was impossible, and his bones were cracking audibly against one another as Nightmare's tendrils writhed inside the wounds, covering every crack with burning corruption.

"No last words, then?" Nightmare's scowl stayed unmoving. "Well, then.... goodbye."

He raised a single pulsing, sharpened tendril, jabbing it through Dream's upper right ribcage, watching with apathy as golden magic and red blood sprayed the black of his tentacle and the white of his enemy's bones.

Dream writhed despite the pain being more intense than anything he'd ever felt in his life. Every movement hurt like burning iron pressed to his body. Stars and darkness alternated in his vision as he gasped desperately for air, choking horribly as his magic and marrow spilled onto the ground.

Nightmare had managed to spear his Soul, possibly negating his 'immortality' by dealing the damage directly to his Soul. He had never done that in a fight before- it was almost like an unspoken rule, no truly lethal force allowed.

The wounds were no longer simply just dealing damage to his physical body- his Soul was starting to disintegrate on contact with Nightmare's ooze.

It was a horrifying feeling, watching your very being drain away as white dust floating in golden magic and your own blood.

_  
_

_I'm going to die... I'm going to fail everyone..._

__

__

_They trusted me...!_

With incredible resolve and the last of his quickly evaporating strength, Dream raised a shaking, cracked arm and brought the vial hidden in his glove down as hard as he could on one of the tendrils stabbed deep into his Soul, watching the fragile glass break against his bone and the liquid inside seep out, being absorbed into the corruption.

And, for the tiniest moment, the world froze for Dream as he stared into his brother's cold, emotionless eyes, searching desperately for any change. Nightmare had ignored the potion slipping into hois corruption, not seeing the shards of glass stuck in Dream's glove… probably taking the motion for nothing more than the other Guardian thrashing in agony.

 _Unless he already prepared for this, too…_  
Dream's heart, or what was left of it, seemed to jump into his throat as he tried to focus on his brother through the pain.

__

__

_Please.... Stars, please...._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof another cliffhanger
> 
> i cant seem to stop
> 
> Theories/comments? I LOVE ANSWERING THOSE HIT ME UP
> 
> *looks at all the people saying they can't wait to see what happens next*
> 
> *looks at my unfinished plotline*
> 
> N....neither can I.....  
> i don't even know from chapter to chapter anymore...... ^^'


	33. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last-Minute Headcanon! Nightmare has a great sense of smell ^^

Nightmare's eye slowly, slowly blinked open.

He was tucked inside a bed- it was unfamiliar, but the scents of his boys and Error were there, so it should be safe.

And anyway, it didn't seem like he was in any shape to run away. He was weak- he could tell that without even having to move. There was a deep sense of fatigue in his bones, and he had the urge to close his eyesocket again and try to sleep some more, growing stronger every passing moment.

He couldn't move a single muscle. It was like he was frozen in place, stiff and still as a rock.

What had even happened to get him in this condition...?

His memories were a complete blur, flapping at the edge of his mind. Every time he thought he was close to remembering something, it fluttered away, slipping just out of reach. It was extremely frustrating.

If only he could just _remember_ \--

Memories flooded into his skull in a sudden, devastating torrent, assaulting him with brutal force as he finally grasped the mental string he was reaching for.

He had hurt his sons. He had hurt Error. He had _abused_ them.

**He had wanted to kill them.**

**You're a monster, a monster, monstermonsterMONSTER-**

He felt like screaming, but the fatigue had trapped him inside of his own body. His mind whirled in a panic as his eyelight flickered out, both shutting down in a moment against his will.

\------

It was, he assumed, some time later when he woke up, immediately wanting to go back to the blissfulness of unconsciousness.

Nightmare wearily opened his single eye, trying to assess the situation he was in before he continued to berate himself mentally.

His vision blurred for a second before sharpening, revealing a blur at the side of his... bed?... that cleared up into another skeleton.

Nightmare couldn't stop the sharp intake of breath that followed his observation. It was Killer.

The tar-eyed skeleton blinked once he realized the other was awake, immediately tensing.  
There was a long silence.

"Nightmare, are you awake?" Killer asked cautiously, keeping his distance. Presumably in case Nightmare hadn't regained his senses.

**That's… understandable. Sensible, even. He _should_ be scared of me at this point. I'm a monster. No better than Ink....**

He held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. "I...... I'm back, Killer. I'm myself again."

Killer's eyelights widened with just a spark of hope, and then narrowed suspiciously. "How do I know you're not faking?"

Nightmare felt his son's words strike deep into his Soul. But he deserved it, after all he had done to them. It was the smart decision, no matter how painful. He racked his clouded mind.

"I..... Error and I were... engaged," he half-choked. "It was going to be.... I don't even know what day it is anymore. It's probably off by now anyway..."

**Of course it's off, you idiot. Who would ever marry someone like you?**

He closed his eye, weary and in so much physical and emotional pain. "Stars... I ruined everything. Why did you even risk this? Why not just kill me? Isn't that what Ink wants?"

**It's what everyone wants. The best way to save them would be to get rid of the threat.**

Killer's frown softened, but his eyes remained somewhat hard. "…Ink is dead," he said quietly. "You killed him. Threw him into the Void."

Nightmare blanched.  
"I... threw him into the Void...?"

His voice was little more than a whisper, horror lacing each word. "I... I've ruined everything...."

**You always ruin everything.**

Killer's eyes softened. This sounded like Dad. Not like... whatever monster he had been transformed into.

"It's going to be fine. I'm sure once you get your strength back-"

Nightmare laughed ruefully, even though the action visibly hurt him.  
"Once I get my strength back? I hurt you, Killer. And Error, and Fresh… I hurt everyone. Nothing is going to 'be okay' after this."

Killer couldn't watch Nightmare beat himself up like this.  
"It wasn't you, it was Ink's potion. You aren't at fault for this."

"What if I revert back?" Nightmare whispered, horrified. "What if you can't MAKE another potion to cure me? why did you even change me back and then take this chance?? You should have just killed me...!"

Oh, Killer was now 90% sure this was the real Nightmare. Always taking everything on his shoulders- so gentle with everyone else, but so hard on himself.  
"We're willing to take that chance," Killer said, gently but firmly. "You aren't evil, Nightmare."

"But I was," Nightmare snarled, his anger directed at his actions in fierce self-loathing. "I could have killed you. I could have killed my family. I WANTED to kill the only people left in the entire Multiverse I care about."

**worthless worthless worthless-**

Killer leaned down and surprised Nightmare with a gentle hug, stopping his train of thought. "Not anymore. You're okay now."

Nightmare was frozen stiff, unable to react. This felt very uncomfortable, but if Killer wanted to hug him.... he grimaced slightly, but stayed silent nonetheless. Touching was.... not a fun thing right now, it seemed.

Killer, however, noticed his discomfort and backed out of the hug, staring worriedly at Nightmare.  
"You weren't yourself back then. The blame rests with Ink, not you."

Nightmare hesitated. It didn't feel that way at all. He had been in 'control' the entire time- his thoughts and mind had just been… warped.

It was like the time he had eaten the apples. He was completely conscious- but his emotions, his priorities, his identity had all been warped horribly.

His focus had shifted from keeping his family safe and doing his job, to the eons-old dream he had cherished in his insanity- ruling the Multiverse. He was dwelling not on the love for those he lived with, but solely on making those who had wronged him pay dearly. Nightmare probably would have sacrificed or killed one of his family members if he thought it would have benefited his cause.

It made him sick with horrific revulsion at his own mindset and actions. Killer might be trying to play 'devil's advocate' a bit literally, but love was blinding him. Love that Nightmare didn't deserve anymore.

**You never deserved it.**

"It's never going to be the same," Nightmare said quietly. "Some things never heal."

THIS will never heal.

Killer was overflowing with worry, so much that Nightmare could practically see the emotion flooding across the other in dark waves.

"Maybe not the same- definitely not the same," Killer said, resting a hand on Nightmare's shoulder. "Dream is on our side this time. The Multiverse will learn the truth. No more war, Dad. No more injuries, no more fights. We can learn from the past. It doesn't have to be like before- it could be better, Night. There's so much hope for everything. We have a blank paper to rewrite our history on!"

No more fighting....?

His boys could finally be... safe?

Unharmed?

free?

It was as if a great weight had lifted from his Soul, tears collecting in his single eyesocket.

This time, when he dropped, although still unwillingly, from the world of the waking, it was no longer filled with panic and remorse. There was hope to be had still in this situation. It could be fixed.

**…You're only lying to yourself.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left, oh boy!
> 
> And then the real fun begins~
> 
> Theories, kudos, comments? Lay em on me!!
> 
> Honestly though. I apologize for not writing as often. I've been doing a lot ore animation and drawing and that kind of stuff. I'm still bad, but i am getting better slowly. Just like with writing!
> 
> And as always, the wonderful xXUndertale_LoverXx helped with editing. Go check them out! They're awesome ^^


	34. Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is slowly beginning to fall back into its place...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> # IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ!!
> 
> I have an announcement to make.
> 
> (Oh, stop holding your breath. It's not bad news!)
> 
> This is the first chapter in... ages... that has NOT been beta read/edited by X!
> 
> There is a reason for that. Multiple ones, in fact.
> 
> One… I'm going to be making two sequels to this book. I am super excited for these, but I don't want to burden X with TWO MORE BOOKS WORTH of editing. It's simply not fair. They have been WONDERFUL, but I really do not want to give them more work.
> 
> Two... X has also changed from writing in the Undertale fandom to My Hero Academia. THAT IS AMAZING and i LOVE mha, I might make a story of my own in that fandom eventually... but I don't want to keep them editing something that's not even in their fandom anymore. X writes a TON, with updates out almost every day... they have enough work on their hands.
> 
> SO. Chapters from here on out are going to be written and edited BY MYSELF ALONE. This means that it may take a bit longer for them to come out, and there may be a few typos here and there. I hope that's okay- I'm still learning!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. and thank YOU, X, for all the help!
> 
> Without further ado... I present to you all the chapter you clicked on the book for!
> 
> -Pitch

Dream turned to Killer as the latter walked into his room.

The golden sketon was bedridden after his skirmish with Nightmare- although he was healing much faster than the other was. Maybe something to do with the potion's effects was slowing down Nightmare's recovery...?

"How is my brother doing, Killer?" Dream's voice was rasping and quiet.

The tarry-eyed skeleton saat down on the edge of Dream's bed. "Well. He's himself again. Finally."

Dream exhaled deeply in relief. "I was so worried..." he frowned at the covers tucked over his lap, scratching at his arm. "I'm not in the best of conditions, either."

The Guardian had a magic-alloyed cast over his entire chest, protecting his shattered ribs and fragile Soul. He was practically covered in bandages, and a Doctor!tale Sans had been called in to make sure nothing happened that would endanger the other. He came in to check on Dream every few hours.

But his wounds would heal. The physical ones for sure, and probably much sooner than the mental scars. So would Nightmare's injuries, with enough time.

"Have you asked Blue to talk with the Council yet? About... everything that happened recently, and the truth about you guys and Nightmare?" Dream queried.

Killer jolted out of his reverie. "Yes, and Blue's already contacted them, but they're very skeptical. You put our image out there as a vision of destruction and death- it will take time for them, or anyone in the Multiverse, really, to learn to tolerare any of us, let alone welcome us into their homes."

Dream hung his head. "…I'm sorry."

"What for?" Killer turned his head to look at the ceiling, leaning back in the chair he had pulled over to the side of the bed so he could sit next to Dream.

The latter gestured vaguely. "I don't know. All of this stupid mess, I guess. I should have- I don't know, I should have done something!"

The Guardian closed his eyes, pained.  
"I should have seen through his lies. He was so- so _obvious,_ in hindsight! But all I could see was my best friend, and now all of this is going on and Ink- h-he's gone," he said quietly.

Dream wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I- I'm _so_ sorry, Killer, I don't know what's happening… it's all so sudden and I just feel... I don't even know how I'm feeling right now..."

Killer reached over, placing a hand on Dream's shoulder gently. Forever-dripping eyesockets met Dream's watery eyes.  
"It's okay to be sad, Dream. It's alright to not be alright, especially after everything we just went through. Night's back to normal- or sort of normal…" Killer looked down at the floor, cursing softly. "Nothing is normal anymore."

Dream frowned, tears half-forgotten at the thought of what Killer had just implied.  
"…What's wrong with Nighty?"

"What isn't wrong?" Killer sighed worriedly. "Dad blames himself for everything that happened. He thinks of us like we're his kids, and right now, he hates himself for trying to hurt us."

"Wait wait wait." Dream stopped Killer mid-thought. "Nightmare thinks of all of you as his kids?"

Killer nodded. "Basically as his angsty teenage boys, yeah. Except for Error. He and Nightmare were engaged before all of this happened… now nobody knows what's really going to happen next," he explained.

Dream froze, tears forgotten. "Nighty was ENGAGED?"

"Yeah, with engagement rings and everything. Although Nightmare lost his somehow. It's… probably best if we don't ask him where it might be at the moment," Killer confessed. "Honestly, it'll probably still go on eventually. The wedding, I mean. Error and Dad were meant for each other, you know? Soulmates and all that."

"Oh my stars, I've always wanted to plan a wedding!" Dream gasped, eyelights finally beginning to shine again. "I wonder what kind of cake they'd like-"

"Chocolate," Killer said with a chuckle. "One half dark, one half sweet. Everyone in the family loves chocolate, Error and Cross especially."

"What about dresses- would Error want to wear one, or-"

"Probably just a nice suit," Killer said thoughtfully. "Error never did like being out and about in dresses much."

"There's so much to do once everything starts getting basck to normal," Dream said with a yawn, tiredness evident in his voice. "Everything is gonna be so different..."

"First a nap, then maybe-possibly-wedding plans," Killer said, gently pulling the covers back onto Dream's body up to his chin. "You need to heal up."

Dream pouted, but it was obvious he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. "Fine," he relented sleepily, "But later I wanna make plans...."

Killer chuckled softly, getting up out of his chair to turn off the lights before leaving the room. "G'night, Dream."

\--------

In the living room, Killer collapsed on the couch. He was exhausted after a few days taking care of things and striving to be the respondible one. Making sure the house got cleaned, chores were done, food was made, the kitchen wasn't destroyed, that nobody died....

Stars, how did Nightmare do this every day…? And find time to work, and eat, and slee-

Oh.

Now that he thought about it, Nightmare really didn't sleep a lot. If at all. He worked at night, and took care of his family during the day. No wonder he always looked so tired... just because he didn't need to sleep to live didn't mean that it was good for him.

Well, now Nighty could get plenty of rest. Killer could take care of the gang for a few weeks. Error was recovering nicely, and he would be able to help in a day or two with Blueberry's healing magic. It was highly surperior to any off the other gang members, with the excpetion of Nightmare, a fact that made Killer equal parts impressed and jealous.

He just had to make it a few more weeks. Get Nightmare back to normal. Get Dream back to normal. Repair the ancient twins' relationship as brothers again. Get the wedding plans made....

It was going to be rough, but now that they had Nighty back, everything seemed so much more straightforward. Anything could be done with enough hard work and help.

But first.... Killer desperately needed a nap.

A crash sounded out from across the house, and Killer groaned, sitting up far too fast and almost collapsing again.

He tried once more, being careful this time, and rushed out of the room to pinpoint the noise of destruction and preform damage control.

"I SWEAR, BLUE, IF YOU BROKE ANOTHER PLATE TRYING TO CARRY TOO MANY AT ONCE, I WILL REARRANGE YOUR RIBCAGE!!" Killer roared, trying to sound intimidating as he dashed across the hallway.

"NYEHH!! I LIKE MY RIBCAGE JUST FINE AS IT IS, THANK YOU!!" Blue yelled back, and Killer sped up, grumbling. 

"THEN YOU BETTER START RUNNING WHILE I CLEAN THIS MESS UP!!"

The family came first. _Then_ the much-needed nap.

Killer couldn't recall when Dream and Blue had started becoming associated with the rest of his family in his mind, but....

...He wasn't going to complain.

Except maybe when the broken plate was his favorite whittled wooden plate. How do you even break a wooden plate?!

"BLUEBERRY I SWEAR-!!!"

"NYEEEEEEHH!!!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Kudos? THEORIES??
> 
> You've got one more chapter after this one, and then it's on to the next book! Take this as a confirmation that there WILL BE a sequel- two of them, if I have anything to say about it!
> 
> So enjoy your bittersweet fluff while it lasts.... >;3c


	35. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah. All is well with our little families. Heaing will begin, and the Multiverse will become balanced again.
> 
> The perfect ending...
> 
> WOOT WOOT ANOTHER CHAPTER OUT

Black.

Black.

Black.

Not just the color black, oh no. The very feel of this place was pitch dark and cold to the bone, penetrating deeply into your very being.

The Void was both nothing, and everything.

There was a great sense of wrongness, even looking into the serene blackness. A shiver would run up anyone's spine, staring into that deep, never-ending oblivion.

~~Can you feel the cold?~~

The anything-everything-nothing is (and was, and always will be,) serene and calm.

The deathly quietness of a place that has never known life for more than a nothingth of a second before riping all the living-breathing-feeling- _existing_ atoms apart from each other, tearing them up into impossibly small parts and then vaporizing them, squeezing the air out of their lungs and disintegrating every little bit of that, too.

~~But you can breathe just fine. Why?~~

The Void is a deadly, harmonious, perfectly balanced place.

But not now.

There is something inside of the imossible darkness, twisting, curling, hibernating quiely.

There is no sound in the Void.

~~Is that why I can't scream?~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh 
> 
> oh hoh hoh
> 
> YALL THOUGHT I WAS GONNA BE DONE WITH THIS
> 
> I GOT A BIG FAT SIKE SOMEWHERE IN MY POCKETS IVE BEEN DYING TO USE
> 
> HERE'S THE NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES!!!
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/24860959/chapters/60143404  
> About time, huh? It's been a long journey, but it's far from over just yet!
> 
> THANK YOU ALL FOR COMMENTING, KUDOS-GIVING, AND BEING SO SUPPORTIVE! Without YOU GUYS, this work would have stayed a drabble forever!
> 
> Keep on being amazing wherever you are~ I hope you liked A Living Nightmare! ^^
> 
> -PitchBlackWings

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A Broken King](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969523) by [PitchBlackWings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PitchBlackWings/pseuds/PitchBlackWings)




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